ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – First year Blaine Batchelor scored his first collegiate goal with less than two minutes remaining to give the regionally-ranked St. Olaf College men's soccer team a 2-1 win at Bethel University in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opener on Tuesday afternoon at Ona Orth Athletic Complex.

Bethel (3-4-0, 0-1-0 MIAC) grabbed an early lead with a 10th-minute goal by Jordan Ross before St. Olaf (4-3-0, 1-0-0 MIAC) rallied in the final half hour to open conference play with a win for the sixth season in a row. Junior Robi Buzakovic tied the game in the 67th minute before Batchelor won it for the Oles in the closing minutes.

The victory extended St. Olaf's winning streak to seven games in the series between the two programs, as the Oles have outscored the Royals by a 23-3 margin since a 1-0 Bethel win in Northfield in 2017. That game was also the last time St. Olaf lost its MIAC opener. The Oles were ranked No. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches Region IX Poll for the second week in a row this week.

After scoring the lone goal for the Royals in last season's 6-1 St. Olaf victory, Ross opened the scoring for the hosts by firing a shot into the top-right corner of the goal off a cutback from Jack Hanson just over nine minutes in. Ross nearly doubled Bethel's lead in the 21st minute, but senior Peter Forseth leapt to tip Ross' effort over following an indirect free kick in the box. The Oles outshot the Royals by a 10-7 margin in the opening 45 minutes and had several chances to score but could not capitalize.

St. Olaf piled on the pressure in the second half, outshooting Bethel by a 20-4 margin and earning nine corner kicks, but had to wait for the game-tying and game-winning goals. Griffin Blokker made three of his 10 saves for the Royals in the opening 20-plus minutes of the half before the Oles finally found a way past the Bethel goalkeeper.

In the 67th minute, St. Olaf won a free kick on the left side that Buzakovic sent into a sea of bodies in the box, and the ball found its way into the back of the net for the junior's third goal of the season. Sophomore Abdirasak Bulale nearly gave the Oles the lead less than four minutes later, but his effort hit the crossbar after a corner kick was not cleared.

Sophomore Ryan Bechtel drew a diving save from Blokker in the 72nd minute before senior Shea Bechtel's deflected shot grazed the top of the crossbar and went out for another corner kick in the 78th minute. St. Olaf's pressure finally paid off in the 89th minute when Batchelor leapt the highest at the back post to head in Ryan Bechtel's right-wing cross for his first collegiate goal and point.

The Oles will take a two-game break from MIAC play, starting with a road trip to Luther College for a non-conference matchup on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.