CHICAGO, Ill. – The St. Olaf College men's soccer team takes on Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) foe and fifth-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College in the sectional semifinals of the 2022 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship on Saturday, Nov. 19 at Amos Alonzo Stagg Field on the campus of the University of Chicago.
In its second-straight appearance in the "Sweet 16", St. Olaf (15-5-1) faces Gustavus (15-1-5) for the third time this season in a 1:30 p.m. kickoff in the second game of the day in Chicago. Prior to the matchup between the Oles and Gusties, second-ranked UChicago hosts the University of St. Thomas (Texas) in an 11 a.m. kickoff.
Daily admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students and senior citizens, and $2 for children ages 2-13 and must be paid in cash. Links for live video and live stats are available on the
tournament website for all of the weekend's games. The winners of Saturday's round of 16 games will meet on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 1 p.m. for a spot in the national semifinals.
St. Olaf advanced to the "Sweet 16" for the third time in program history and the second year in a row with a pair of victories in Naperville, Ill. last weekend, defeating
Lake Forest College, 8-1, and No. 10-ranked
North Central College, 2-1. The Oles have advanced to the sectional semifinals in each of their last two appearances in the national tournament and are in the midst of their ninth-ever NCAA Tournament berth (1984, 1992, 1998, 1999, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2021, 2022).
Gustavus earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the 14th time in program history (1993, 1994, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2022) and advanced to the sectional semifinals after hosting the first two rounds. The Gusties blanked Aurora University, 2-0, in the opening round before knocking out UW-Eau Claire in a seven-round penalty shootout following a 1-1 tie in the second round.
In addition to being the third meeting between the two programs this season, Saturday's game will be the first-ever meeting between St. Olaf and Gustavus in the NCAA Tournament. The Oles have played two games against MIAC opposition in the national tournament, splitting 1-0 second-round decisions against Macalester College in 1998 (loss) and 2015 (win).
Earlier this season, then-eighth-ranked
Gustavus edged St. Olaf, 2-1, in the regular-season meeting in St. Peter, getting a 65th-minute, game-winning goal from Owen Johnson to break a 1-1 tie. The Oles avenged the regular-season loss with a
2-1 win of their own in the championship game of the MIAC Playoffs, getting two goals from first year
Robi Buzakovic, including the game-winner with 1:01 to go, to hand the Gusties their lone loss of the season.
UChicago (18-0-1), which was ranked No. 2 in the country in the most recent United Soccer Coaches national poll, will host for the second weekend in a row after downing Birmingham Southern College, 2-1, and Willamette University, 4-1, last weekend. After advancing to the national semifinals last year, the Maroons are in the tournament for the 13th time in program history (1996, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022).
In its first season of NCAA Division III competition, St. Thomas (16-1-3) picked up a 2-1 win over Chapman University and a 2-0 victory against Pacific Lutheran University to book its spot in the "Sweet 16." The Celts transitioned to Division III after previously being a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and won the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Tournament title over Trinity University (Texas) by a 3-1 margin.
