NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The second-seeded St. Olaf College men's soccer team advanced to the championship game of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Men's Soccer Playoffs for the fourth season in a row with a 4-1 semifinal victory over third-seeded Augsburg University on Thursday afternoon at Rolf Mellby Field.

St. Olaf (13-4-3) surged out to a 3-0 lead in the opening 30 minutes before weathering a fightback from Augsburg (12-4-5) early in the second half. The Auggies made it a two-goal game a little over six minutes into the second half and had a penalty kick that would have made it 3-2 with over 30 minutes to go but failed to convert from the spot.

Senior Shea Bechtel, sophomore Ryan Bechtel, and junior Robi Buzakovic all had a goal and an assist in the win for St. Olaf, which also got a goal from sophomore Abdirasak Bulale. Buzakovic, Ryan Bechtel, and Bulale gave the Oles the 3-0 halftime lead before Shea Bechtel ended any hope of a late Augsburg rally inside the final five minutes.

With the win, St. Olaf advanced to the championship game for the fourth season in a row and the seventh time in program history. The Oles will meet top-seeded Gustavus Adolphus College for the MIAC Playoff title and the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. in St. Peter. The two teams shared the MIAC regular-season title and will be meeting for the third consecutive season in the playoff championship.

St. Olaf was awarded a penalty kick just over five minutes in after an Augsburg defender picked up the ball in his own 18-yard box, with some confusion over whether the Auggies had put the ball back in play on a goal kick or not. Buzakovic converted from the spot for the fourth time in four tries this season to give the Oles an early lead.

The Oles added another set-piece goal in the 18th minute when Ryan Bechtel bundled the ball home from on the goal line after Buzakovic swung a corner kick under the crossbar for his sixth goal of the season. Bulale made it 3-0 St. Olaf inside the first half hour with his ninth of the season in the 29th minute, nodding home a header from close range after the Bechtel brothers combined on the right to allow Ryan Bechtel space to cross.

Augsburg nearly got on the board inside the first 30 seconds of the second half when junior Ben Beckman cleared the ball off the line after senior Peter Forseth made a save to deny Eric Riera. The Auggies broke through in the 52nd minute when Thomas Menna forced the ball over the line from the doorstep after Christopher Plaza headed down a cross by Riera.

In a two-goal game, Augsburg had a chance to get within one in the 59th minute after being awarded a penalty kick but could not hit the target with the spot kick. The score remained 3-1 until Shea Bechtel netted his team-leading 12th goal of the season in the 86th minute by drilling the ball home at the near post in a 1-on-1.

St. Olaf held a 20-13 advantage in shots in the game and had 10 of the game's 14 shots on goal. The Oles led the shot count 15-4 at the half before the Auggies were credited with nine of the 14 shots in the second half. Forseth had three saves in the win for St. Olaf, while Frankie Pinto made six stops for Augsburg.