CHICAGO, Ill. – The No. 11-ranked St. Olaf College men's soccer team advanced to the sectional final for the first time in program history with a 4-3 see-saw victory over UW-Eau Claire in the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship on Friday at Stagg Field.
After St. Olaf (17-3-3) surrendered three one-goal leads to UW-Eau Claire (13-5-2), senior
Clemente Arcuch Puig headed in a corner kick from classmate
Hakeem Morgan with just over five minutes remaining to send the Oles into the "Elite Eight" for the first time. St. Olaf had bowed out in the "Sweet 16" in each of its three prior appearances in the sectional rounds (2015, 2021, 2022) including doing so at the University of Chicago's Stagg Field in each of the two previous seasons.
With the win, the Oles will take on the host and No. 21-ranked Maroons for a spot in the national semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. UChicago advanced by a 5-4 margin on penalty kicks over No. 10-ranked Calvin University following a 1-1 tie in the first game of the day.
The victory made men's soccer just the second of St. Olaf's varsity sport programs to advance to the "Elite Eight" in a 64-team, bracket-style NCAA Championship, joining volleyball, which did so each season from 1994-96. The win also extended the Oles' program-record unbeaten streak to 19 games (16-0-3).
In the first half, St. Olaf twice grabbed the lead on penalty kicks by senior
Victor Gaulmin, but UW-Eau Claire answered less than three minutes later both times. In the 14th minute, Gaulmin stepped up for his first spot kick of the game after Arcuch Puig was taken down in the box. The Blugolds responded less than a minute later, however, when Sam Lynch scored on an acrobatic overhead kick following a long throw-in to tie the game at 1-1 less than 15 minutes in.
The score stayed even at 1-1 until first year
Ryan Bechtel earned St. Olaf's second penalty kick of the half by beating a UW-Eau Claire defender before being tripped by a Blugold in the box. Gaulmin again converted from the spot with his sixth successful penalty kick in seven tries this season and his 15th goal of the season, tying him for second on the program's single-season goals list. The lead lasted just over two minutes, however, as Ethan Andersen scored from close range for the Blugolds shortly after a free kick to make it a 2-2 game at halftime.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, the Oles took the lead for a third time when sophomore
Aidan Hillis poked the ball home at the back post after junior
Shea Bechtel won the initial header off a Gaulmin corner kick and the ball made its way to Hillis on the doorstep. With the assist,
Shea Bechtel broke a tie with John Zietlow '11 for the program record with the 35th of his career. St. Olaf held the lead for over 20 minutes before Nathan Donovan slotted the ball home for his 24th goal of the season to bring the Blugolds level at 3-3 in the 83rd minute.
This time, it was St. Olaf's turn to respond quickly, as Arcuch Puig rose highest to head the ball in from right in front of the goalkeeper off Morgan's in-swinging corner kick from the right. The goal was just Arcuch Puig's fourth of the season but his second game-winner against the Blugolds this season after he scored the lone goal in the Oles' 1-0 victory in Eau Claire on Oct. 4. UW-Eau Claire was unable to generate a shot after Arcuch Puig's goal.
