ST. PETER, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's soccer team clinched a spot in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs following a 2-2 tie against Gustavus Adolphus College on Tuesday afternoon at Gustie Soccer Field.
St. Olaf (10-2-3, 5-2-2 MIAC) entered the game knowing a win would secure a postseason spot and held a 2-0 lead after scoring twice in the span of less than a minute early in the second half, but Gustavus (7-4-5, 2-4-3 MIAC) tallied two quick-fire goals of its own later in the half to force the Oles to settle for a tie. The playoff berth will be the seventh for St. Olaf, which previously appeared in the field in 2004, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, and 2022.
With most of the conference having two games remaining in the regular season, the Oles sit in fourth place with 17 points, and only one other team - Concordia-Moorhead, which tied Bethel University on Tuesday - can surpass the 17-point total. Both Augsburg University and Macalester College have enough games remaining to reach 17 points but play each other on the final day, assuring one of the teams will drop points.
After a first half that included just one shot on goal for each team, St. Olaf broke through with two goals in the span of 48 seconds early in the second half. Senior
Sadie Klassen got the scoring started in the 56th minute by firing a left-footed shot from the top of the box inside the left post for her 10th goal of the season, as the senior reached double figures in goals for the second time in her career.
Less than a minute later, junior
Clara Kubis doubled the Oles' lead with her first collegiate goal by chipping the ball over the goalkeeper's head from the right side of the box off a ball across the box from senior
Mia Van der Heide. Van der Heide assisted on both St. Olaf goals for the first points of her Ole career.
Gustavus cut its deficit in half in the 65th minute when Lillian Selberg lofted the ball over first year
Ava Williams after Cambelle Waldspurger's shot from the left side of the box hit the crossbar and was not cleared. Waldspurger added a goal of her own by tucking a shot inside the near post from the top of the box on the left for the game-tying tally.
St. Olaf held a four-shot advantage in shots (14-10) in the game, although Gustavus owned a two-shot edge in shots on goal (6-4). Williams matched her season-high total with four saves for the Oles, while Katelyn Olson had two for the Gusties.
St. Olaf will celebrate Senior Day prior to its 1 p.m. game against the College of Saint Benedict on Saturday, Oct. 26 at Rolf Mellby Field.
