NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The top-seeded and No. 11-ranked St. Olaf College men's soccer team advanced to the championship game of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs for the third season in a row with a 2-1 victory over fourth-seeded and regionally-ranked Macalester College on Thursday afternoon at Rolf Mellby Field.

Senior Victor Gaulmin scored once in each half to give St. Olaf (14-3-2) a 2-0 lead five minutes into the second half, but Macalester (11-3-5) struck back through Elijah Edelman less than seven minutes after Gaulmin's second goal to make it a one-goal game. The Oles held on the rest of the way, however, to book their spot in the title game for the sixth time (2007, 2011, 2015, 2021, 2022, 2023).

St. Olaf will host third-seeded Gustavus Adolphus College in the championship game on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. at Rolf Mellby Field with the MIAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament at stake. The Gusties blanked second-seeded and No. 12-ranked Carleton College by a 1-0 margin earlier in the day on Thursday. The two teams also met in the championship game last season in St. Peter, with the Oles coming away with a 2-1 victory.

The win extended St. Olaf's unbeaten streak to 15 games (13-0-2), which is the third-longest streak in program history behind 16-game streaks in 1999 and 2021. The Oles were ranked No. 1 in Region IX in both the NCAA Regional Rankings and the United Soccer Coaches Poll this week, while the Scots were No. 5 in both listings.

St. Olaf grabbed the game's opening goal in the 31st minute when a long throw-in by first year Ryan Bechtel deflected in off Gaulmin on the doorstep. The goal came on one of just three shots on goal between the two teams in the opening 45 minutes. Macalester held a slender advantage of 7-6 in shots overall at the break.

The Oles doubled their lead early in the second half through Gaulmin's fourth penalty kick of the season, which came after Bechtel was tripped by a Macalester defender after getting in behind off a pass from senior Casey McCloskey. Gaulmin's conversion from the spot was his 13th goal of the season and the 33rd of his career, figures that rank tied for sixth in a season and tied for third in a career in program history. Gaulmin's 88 points are also the third-highest total by an Ole.

The Scots pulled back within a goal in the 57th minute when Edelman, who scored the game-tying goal with eight seconds left in the teams' 1-1 tie during the regular season, curled home a left-footed free kick from near the right corner of the box to get Macalester on the board. Less than a minute later, senior Hakeem Morgan nearly answered with a free kick of his own, but his left-footed effort hit off the top of the cross bar.

St. Olaf had two more chances to extend its one-goal lead later in the half. In the 70th minute, junior Shea Bechtel had a good look at goal but saw his shot from just outside the six-yard box blocked by a lunging Macalester defender. Five minutes later, Macalester goalkeeper Sam Price reacted quickly to stop Morgan's shot on the turn from in close.

The visitors generated two corner kicks in the final 90 seconds of the game but were unable to convert, as St. Olaf booked its sixth trip to the MIAC Playoff Championship. Junior Peter Forseth made two saves in earning the win, while Price had three stops in the loss.