NORTHFIELD, Minn. – For the third time in four seasons, the St. Olaf College men's soccer team will host the opening weekend of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship, as the first two rounds will be played at Rolf Mellby Field on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 16-17.

St. Olaf was awarded hosting duties for the opening weekend of the 64-team national tournament during Monday's NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Selection Show. The Oles will face Wartburg College in the first game of the day on Saturday at 11 a.m. That game will be followed by North Park University matching up with UW-Superior at 1:30 p.m. The winners of those two games will play for a spot in the sectional rounds ("Sweet 16") on Sunday at 1 p.m.

FAN INFORMATION

Tickets for each of the games this weekend will be sold on-site on the day of the games only. Ticket prices are $6 for general admission, $3 for students (with ID) and seniors, and children two and under are free. Tickets may be purchased with cash or credit card. The St. Olaf Athletic Department will cover the cost of tickets for St. Olaf students/faculty/staff (must present ID) throughout the weekend.

All parking is on a first-come, first-served basis in the lots surrounding Skoglund Center and Tostrud Fieldhouse. Limited seating will be available in metal bleachers on the west side of the field, but spectators may also bring lawn chairs or sit/stand on the hill surrounding the field. No spectators will be permitted on the goal lines or on the east side of the field. No pets are allowed inside the venue (except identified service animals) and no alcoholic beverages are permitted.

Live video and live statistics will be available for all three games.

HOW THEY GOT HERE / NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY

St. Olaf (14-4-3) earned one of 43 automatic berths into the 64-team field after winning the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs for the third season in a row, becoming the first program in the history of the tournament to accomplish a three-peat. The MIAC Playoff title was the fifth in program history (2011, 2015, 2022, 2023, 2024) for the Oles, who are the reigning NCAA Division III national champions after winning their first-ever national title last season. After defeating Augsburg University 4-1 in the semifinals, St. Olaf knocked off top-seeded and fourth-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College 3-2 on the road in the championship game to clinch the 11th NCAA Tournament berth in program history (1984, 1992, 1998, 1999, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2022, 2023, 2024). The Oles are 12-7-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

After going a perfect 14-0-0 in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play during the regular season, UW-Superior (17-3-2) cruised to its eighth UMAC Tournament title in a row with a 5-1 victory over the University of Northwestern and a 6-2 win over Bethany Lutheran College. The Yellowjackets will be making their eighth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and are 2-5-1 in their previous six showings, with the two wins coming in the opening rounds in 2018 and 2019.

As the No. 2 seed, Wartburg (11-4-4) won the American Rivers Conference Tournament for the second season in a row – and eighth time overall – with a 1-0 win over fourth-seeded Nebraska Wesleyan University on a 48th-minute goal by Flori Gembo. The win booked a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the Knights for the 11th time in program history (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2013, 2023, 2024), as Wartburg seeks to improve on its 11-8-3 all-time mark in the national tournament.

Despite falling 2-1 to fifth-seeded North Central College in the championship game of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Tournament, North Park (13-2-5) landed one of 21 at-large berths into the NCAA Tournament. Like St. Olaf and Wartburg, the Vikings are in the field for the 11th time in program history, and North Park, the 2017 national runner-up, holds a 10-10-2 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament.

ST. OLAF NOTES

This weekend marks the fourth time in program history (1999, 2021, 2023, 2024) that St. Olaf served as a host for at least one round of the NCAA Tournament. In 1999, the Oles topped Luther College by a 3-0 margin in the opening round at home. St. Olaf defeated Dominican University (Ill.) and Loras College at home in 2021 before getting past UW-Superior and Carleton College last season.

St. Olaf is one of five NCAA Division III men's soccer programs across the country to have appeared in the "Sweet 16" in each of the last three seasons, along with the University of Chicago, Amherst College, SUNY Cortland, and Washington & Lee University.

St. Olaf is a combined 15-15-1 all-time against the three other teams at this weekend's pod. The Oles are 8-10 against Wartburg, 1-4 against North Park, and 6-1-1 against UW-Superior. St. Olaf and Wartburg have never met in the NCAA Tournament, while the Oles have played both of the other teams once in the national tournament. St. Olaf fell 1-0 to North Park in the sectional semifinals at UChicago in 2021 and rolled to a 7-1 win over UW-Superior in the first round to begin its national championship run last season.

Since a 2-3-0 start to the season, St. Olaf is 12-3-1 in its last 16 games, a streak that started with a 3-0 victory over Bethany Lutheran on Sept. 13. Over the last 16 games, the Oles have outscored their opponents by a 50-16 margin.

St. Olaf's 12 NCAA Tournament victories are the second-highest total of any present or former MIAC member and are just one behind Gustavus for the highest total. The Oles have won at least one game in each of their last five appearances and have claimed at least two victories in their last four appearances.

Since the start of the 2021 season, St. Olaf is 34-5-5 on its home turf at Rolf Mellby Field. The Oles' lone losses came to Colorado College and Carleton in 2021, then-defending-national-champion UChicago in the 2023 season opener, and to the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges this fall.

Senior Shea Bechtel is one of just 23 student-athletes in NCAA Division III men's soccer history – and the lone MIAC student-athlete – to score at least 40 goals and record at least 40 assists in his career. Bechtel is St. Olaf's all-time leader in points (126), goals (41), assists (44), game-winning goals (15), shots (253), games played (91), and games started (89). The lone Ole to reach the 100-point milestone for his career, Bechtel has registered at least 30 points in all four years of his career and is just four shots on goal shy of the record of 129 set by Kevin Skrip '16.

Bechtel and his younger brother, Ryan Bechtel, have both recorded at least one goal or one assist in each of St. Olaf's last five games. Shea has four goals and four assists over that span, while Ryan has three goals and four assists.

Senior Peter Forseth is the winningest goalkeeper in program history for St. Olaf with a 40-8-7 record. The senior, who was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship, also ranks fourth all-time in saves (170) and shutouts (18) at St. Olaf.

Shea Bechtel has compiled four goals and nine assists in 12 NCAA Tournament games over the course of his career. Junior Caspar Olseth has tallied four goals in eight NCAA contests, while junior Aidan Hillis (one goal, one assist), junior Robi Buzakovic (one goal), fifth-year senior Clemente Arcuch Puig (one goal), and Ryan Bechtel (two assists) all have multiple points in their careers in the national tournament.

St. Olaf's senior class has won six of the eight available MIAC regular season (3) and MIAC Playoff (3) championships. When combining regular season results, playoff results, and NCAA Tournament results, the Oles' seniors are 40-3-7 against MIAC opposition during their careers.

St. Olaf boasts one of the most potent offenses in NCAA Division III men's soccer, ranking in the top 25 nationally in 10 different categories: fifth in corner kicks per game (7.95) and shots per game (19.76), tied for sixth in assists (57), 11th in points (170), tied for 11th in assists per game (2.67), 14th in goals (57) and shots on goal per game (9.05), tied for 14th in goal differential (+35), 18th in points per game (8.10), and 21st in goals per game (2.71).