MANKATO, Minn. – In a matchup of first-place teams, the regionally-ranked St. Olaf College men's soccer team extended its unbeaten streak to eight games with a 3-1 non-conference victory over Bethany Lutheran College on Monday night at Scheels Field.

St. Olaf (8-3-1) got goals from senior Casey McCloskey, junior Shea Bechtel, and senior Victor Gaulmin to top Bethany Lutheran (8-3-2) and move to 7-0-1 in its last eight games. The win also saw the Oles, who were ranked No. 5 in Region IX by the United Soccer Coaches last week, snap the Vikings' nine-game unbeaten streak (7-0-2) in the first meeting between the two programs since 2019.

The victory was St. Olaf's 15th in a row in the series between the two programs dating back to 1986. The Oles have outscored the Vikings by a 68-5 margin in the last meetings since 2007. Bethany Lutheran entered the game in first place in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) standings, while St. Olaf sat atop the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) standings.

With a goal and an assist in the win, Gaulmin moved into a tie for ninth in recorded program history with 68 points in his career, passing Jeff Bezdieck '01, who compiled 66 points from 1997-00. The senior's goal was the 26th of his career, as he and Bechtel are tied for eighth in the category after Bechtel also scored on the night.

By scoring the Oles' second goal, Bechtel tied the program record set Nathan Swenson '10 with the 11th game-winning goal of his career. Bechtel's goal also saw him move level with senior Hakeem Morgan for fifth all-time at St. Olaf with 79 points.

Both teams had opportunities to score in the opening minutes, but it was St. Olaf that found the breakthrough first in the 21st minute on McCloskey's second goal in as many games. After the Oles got a free kick just outside the box towards the left side, Gaulmin hit the crossbar with the free kick and the ball ricocheted off the back of Bethany Lutheran goalkeeper Mason Steffen just outside the line. McCloskey was the first to react to head the ball home for the 19th goal of his career.

The Oles had three chances to extend their lead before halftime but had to settle for a 1-0 advantage. A minute after his goal, McCloskey got in down the right channel, but Steffen raced off his line to smother McCloskey's effort. Five minutes later, senior Clemente Arcuch Puig fired a shot from 25 yards out that Steffen got a piece of to turn it onto the crossbar. Less than five minutes after that, first year Michael Nelson got on the end of a Gaulmin through ball, but Steffen again raced off his line to save Nelson's shot out for a corner.

In the second half, junior Peter Forseth preserved St. Olaf's lead with back-to-back saves on DanieL Almeida 15 minutes into the half. Six minutes later, Bechtel got the Oles' second goal of the night, driving to the top of the box from the right before unleashing a left-footed shot inside the far post for his sixth goal of the year.

Just under four minutes after Bechtel's goal, Bethany Lutheran got on the board and made it a one-goal game again when Agostino Quadrio Curzio whipped a free kick into the top-left corner from the right side after a handball on the Oles. Gaulmin gave St. Olaf breathing room in the final 10 minutes by nodding in a cross from first year Ryan Bechtel in the 81st minute to match the elder Bechtel's tally of six goals. The assist was the first of the younger Bechtel's collegiate career.

Forseth improved to 7-3-1 on the season with a five-save evening between the posts. The win was the 15th of the junior's career, pulling him into a tie for seventh in program history with Sean McNattin '99. Sfeffen had five saves in the loss for the hosts.

St. Olaf returns to MIAC play by hosting Saint Mary's University on Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 3:30 p.m. in the team's first home game in nearly two weeks.