NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The second-seeded St. Olaf College men's soccer team returned to the championship game of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs by blanking fifth-seeded Bethel University, 3-0, in the semifinals on Wednesday afternoon at Rolf Mellby Field.

St. Olaf (12-5-1) got goals from junior Ian Elliott and first year Robi Buzakovic in the opening 20-plus minutes and a second-half goal from junior Victor Gaulmin to get past Bethel (10-9-1) and book its spot in the MIAC title game for the second year in a row. The championship game appearance will be the fifth for the Oles since the tournament began in 2003.

Top-seeded and fifth-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College edged sixth-seeded Saint John's University, 1-0, in Wednesday's other semifinal, meaning St. Olaf will head to St. Peter for the championship game on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 1 p.m.

St. Olaf took an early lead in the 12th minute on Elliott's first goal of the season, as the junior headed in a Morgan corner kick from the right corner right in front of the goal. The goal was the third of Elliott's career and came on the Oles' fourth corner of the early stages.

Less than 10 minutes later, St. Olaf doubled its lead when Morgan sent a free kick from the right wing to Buzakovic at the top of the box and Buzakovic curled the ball into the top-left portion of the goal for his fourth goal of the season. Morgan's two early assists raised his season total to seven in 12 games, which is tied for second on the team.

The Oles took the two-goal lead into the halftime break but nearly saw the lead cut in half less than four minutes into the second half, as Bethel's Matthias Caspari fired a shot from outside the box off the left post with the goal open. Gaulmin got into double figures on the season by heading in a Buzakovic corner kick in the 74th minute for the lone goal of the second half.

St. Olaf outshot Bethel by a 19-10 margin in the game, including a 7-2 margin in shots on goal, and owned a 16-2 advantage in corner kicks. Sophomore Peter Forseth only had two saves to make in earning his fifth shutout win of the season, while Juan Valdivia Cortes had four saves in the loss for the Royals.

The win ran the Oles' home record to a perfect 9-0-0 this season. St. Olaf outscored its opponents by a 32-1 margin on its home turf.