ST. PETER, Minn. – The regionally-ranked St. Olaf College men's soccer team overcame a 3-1 halftime deficit with two goals early in the second half to claim a 3-3 tie at fifth-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College in a matchup of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) co-leaders on Wednesday afternoon at Gustie Soccer Field.

After St. Olaf (10-4-3, 6-0-2 MIAC) opened the scoring less than five minutes in, Gustavus (12-0-3, 6-0-2 MIAC) scored three times in a 12-minute span later in the half to carry a 3-1 lead into halftime. The Oles responded by scoring twice in the first seven minutes of the second half, and the score remained even the rest of the way. Gustavus was ranked No. 5 in this week's United Soccer Coaches Top 25 and was No. 1 in Region IX, while St. Olaf received votes nationally and was ranked No. 3 in the region.

With the tie, both teams clinched spots in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs with two games remaining in the regular season and remain even atop the conference standings with 20 points (6-0-2). The playoff appearance will be the fifth in a row for the Oles, who were facing their third top-10 foe of the season. The game was also the fourth consecutive meeting between the two programs that ended in tie.

St. Olaf grabbed an early lead in the fifth minute when senior Shea Bechtel scored the 38th goal of his career to break a tie with Kevin Skrip '16 for the program's all-time scoring record. Bechtel capitalized on a miscommunication in the Gustavus defense by firing the ball home after a Gustie defender chested down a cross that the goalkeeper did not come and claim. The 1-0 lead was Gustavus' first deficit of the season.

Midway through the half, Gustavus took control with three goals in the space of less than 12 minutes to open up a 3-1 lead at the half. Leo Runestad tied the game in the 21st minute before Miles Redmond scored a goal on a counter attack in the 28th minute after a St. Olaf corner to put the hosts on top. The Gusties added to their lead in the 33rd minute when Runestad scored his second of the afternoon and third of the season.

Facing a two-goal deficit against a team that had now allowed more than one goal in a game this season and held a 0.429 goals-against average entering the day, St. Olaf struck twice in the first six-plus minutes of the second half to tie the game. Fifth-year senior Clemente Arcuch Puig started the comeback by tucking a header from outside the penalty spot into the lower-right corner off a cutback from sophomore Ryan Bechtel in the 49th minute.

Less than three minutes later, Shea Bechtel got into double figures on the season by sending a shot in under the crossbar from the left side of the box to even the game at 3-3. The game marked the first time the Gusties had allowed three or more goals at home since a 4-3 loss to Central College on Sept. 15, 2019.

Both teams had chances to break the tie during the remainder of the game but could not pull ahead. Junior Aidan Hillis cleared a goal-bound header by Jared Hecht off the line in the 70th minute and, six minutes later, sophomore Abdirasak Bulale had a goal-bound shot of his own blocked by a Gustie defender. The final chance of the game also fell to Bulale in the 89th minute, but his effort from the edge of the box was tipped out for a corner by Egan Bedwell.

St. Olaf will close out the regular season with back-to-back home games, starting with a Senior Day meeting with Saint John's University on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 3:30 p.m. at Rolf Mellby Field.