SALEM, Va. – In a matchup of first-time national semifinalists, the No. 11-ranked St. Olaf College men's soccer team got a pair of goals and an assist from senior Casey McCloskey to down No. 18-ranked Washington College (Md.) by a 3-1 score on Friday at Kerr Stadium.

McCloskey posted just the second two-goal game of his collegiate career, opening the scoring in the 21st minute and breaking a 1-1 tie with the game-winning goal in the 74th minute for St. Olaf (19-3-3) after Washington (13-3-6) tied the game early in the second half. First year Michael Nelson added an insurance goal five minutes after McCloskey's game-winner, as the Oles advanced to the national championship game on Sunday.

St. Olaf will take on the winner of the second semifinal between No. 13-ranked Amherst College and Washington & Lee University on Sunday, Dec. 3 at 11 a.m. CST. The game will mark the first time a St. Olaf team has competed in a national championship game and just the second time a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) men's soccer program will play for a national title (Gustavus Adolphus – 2005).

The victory extended the Oles' program-record unbeaten streak to 21 games (18-0-3) since a 1-3-0 start and was the program's 19th victory of the season, tying the 2021 team for the most wins in a season in program history. St. Olaf also established single-season program records in goals (75), points (210), and shots on goal (205) during the game.

Competing in the NCAA Tournament for just the second time, Washington started the game on top, but junior Peter Forseth made three important saves in the first 20 minutes to keep the game scoreless. In the 10th minute, Forseth got a fingertip to a shot from the top of the box by Harrison Malone to get the ball out for a corner and, from the ensuing corner, he dove to stop a header by Sebastien Linares. Seven minutes later, Forseth produced a diving save to stop Tyler Davidson's curling effort from the right side of the box and Malone fired the rebound off the crossbar.

Forseth's saves paid off when McCloskey opened the scoring in the 21st minute by curling a right-footed shot from the left side off the far post and in for the program's record-breaking 73rd goal of the season. The goal stood after the lone scoring of an opening half that saw St. Olaf outshoot Washington by an 11-7 margin, although the Shoremen held a 4-3 edge in shots on goal.

Washington again came out more quickly in the second half and got rewarded with the tying goal from Ben Strine in the 55th minute, as Strine slotted the ball home after a mistake at the back by the Oles. Fifteen minutes later, first year Ryan Bechtel nearly put St. Olaf back on top, but his right-footed drive from the right side of the box grazed the top of the crossbar.

Just three minutes later, Bechtel set up McCloskey's second goal of the game by picking out McCloskey at the back post from the right side and McCloskey drilled the ball into the roof of the net. The five-point performance moved McCloskey up to ninth in program history with 71 career points, while the game-winning goal brought him into a tie for fourth with nine.

McCloskey was again involved with the Oles' third goal, as he lofted a cross from the left to the back post, where senior Jordan Oberholtzer sent the ball back into the middle for Nelson to slot home to cap the scoring. The five-point night was a career-high total for McCloskey, whose only other two-goal performance came in a 6-0 win over Saint Mary's University on Oct. 11, 2022.