NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's soccer team was eliminated from the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship on penalties, 4-2, following a 2-2 tie against UW-Superior on Sunday afternoon at Rolf Mellby Field.

After St. Olaf (15-4-4) got an early goal from fifth-year senior Clemente Arcuch Puig, UW-Superior (18-3-3) used two goals early in the second half to take a 2-1 lead and held that lead until senior Shea Bechtel equalized for the Oles with 3:17 remaining in regulation. Both teams mustered just one shot on goal in the two overtime periods before the Yellowjackets converted all four of their penalty kicks and got two saves from Alex Paredes to advance to the sectional rounds ("Sweet 16") for the first time in program history.

The loss brought an end to the careers of St. Olaf's six seniors: Arcuch Puig, Peter Forseth, Ian Holtz-Hazeltine, Bechtel, Joe Deuitch, and Alex Felix. After joining a program that was 9-10-0 overall in the last full season prior to their arrival on campus, the class helped lead the Oles to three Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) regular-season titles, three MIAC Playoff titles, and four NCAA Tournament appearances, including the program's first national title last season.

St. Olaf took the lead just over six minutes in when Arcuch Puig scored for the third consecutive postseason game. Junior Robi Buzakovic swung in a corner kick that was headed by junior Dimitri Nair into a UW-Superior defender. The loose ball went to sophomore Ben Brody, who chested the ball down to Arcuch Puig to loft over a Yellowjacket defender and in with Paredes out of the goal.

Junior Jack Hobday preserved the Oles' lead by reacting quickly to a header from Jake Kidd in the 19th minute. St. Olaf nearly extended its lead before the break when Arcuch Puig rocketed the ball into the side netting from the right side of the box off a ball over the top from junior Ben Beckman in the 34th minute.

UW-Superior quickly overturned its 1-0 halftime deficit with two goals in the space of five-plus minutes early in the second half. Felipe Oliveira brought the visitors level by rolling the ball into the lower-right corner from the left side of the box in the 52nd minute. Shortly thereafter, Josh Bellamy split a couple of St. Olaf defenders on a run into the box and slotted the ball into the lower-left corner to give the visitors the lead.

With time winding down, Bechtel gave the Oles life inside the final four minutes with his team-leading 13th goal of the season. After Nair swung a cross towards the top of the box, first year Kymani Chitulangoma flicked a header over the UW-Superior back line. Bechtel steered the ball around the advancing Paredes before tucking a left-footed shot across goal to tie the game. Bechtel nearly won it for the Oles in the final ticks of regulation but sent a shot wide of the left post as time expired.

In the shootout, Bellamy, Oliveira, Harry Ambler, and Alfie Hudd all made their attempts for UW-Superior and Paredes saved St. Olaf's first and fourth attempts. Bechtel and first year Daniel Valdes converted their penalty kicks for the Oles.

Both teams had seven shots on goal in the game, with UW-Superior holding a 15-14 advantage overall in shots. Hobday recorded five saves for the Oles, while Paredes had four before his heroics in the shootout for the Yellowjackets.