NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The regionally-ranked St. Olaf College men's soccer team began Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play by scoring three goals in each half to defeat Bethel University by a 6-1 margin on Wednesday afternoon at Rolf Mellby Field.

After St. Olaf (2-3-0, 1-0-0 MIAC) and Bethel (2-2-0, 0-1-0 MIAC) traded goals 17 seconds apart inside the first three minutes, the Oles scored five unanswered goals to cruise to the victory. The win extended St. Olaf's winning streak in the series to six in a row, with the six victories coming by a combined score of 21-2, and marked the fifth-straight season the Oles have won their MIAC opener.

Head coach Justin Oliver's team was ranked No. 8 in Region IX in this week's initial set of United Soccer Coaches regional rankings. All three of St. Olaf's losses this season have come to teams that were nationally-ranked at the time.

Senior Clemente Arcuch Puig led the way for the Oles with one goal and two assists, while sophomore Dimitri Nair and junior Shea Bechtel had a goal and an assist apiece. Senior Casey McCloskey recorded two assists, while senior Hakeem Morgan, senior Zac Harvey-Latham, and first year Ryan Bechtel also scored in the win. Morgan's goal moved him into sole possession of seventh place on the program's all-time scoring list with 26 goals.

St. Olaf opened the scoring just 2:36 into the game when McCloskey sent a low cross into the box for Arcuch Puig to turn home for his first goal of the season. Bethel struck back almost immediately, however, as Jordan Ross curled the ball into the top-right corner of the net from the left corner of the box just 17 seconds after Arcuch Puig's goal.

Less than 10 minutes after Ross' goal, Shea Bechtel put the Oles back on top with his third goal of the season, as he cut in from the left wing and fired the ball home for what proved to be the game-winning goal. Fifteen minutes after his older brother scored, Ryan Bechtel headed the ball in from close range after McCloskey's cross resulted in a loose ball in front of the goal.

The score remained 3-1 until Morgan tallied his team-leading fifth goal of the season by prodding the ball home after Arcuch Puig's shot from the left side of the box produced a rebound in the 61st minute. Harvey-Latham and Nair added goals a little over eight minutes apart in the final 20-plus minutes to cap the six-goal outburst.

St. Olaf held advantages of 18-6 in shots and 12-4 in shots on goal in the win, as junior Peter Forseth collected the victory with three saves. Dylan Parkison had six saves in the loss for the Royals.

The Oles are off until Luther College visits Rolf Mellby Field for a 4 p.m. kickoff on Wednesday, Sept. 20.