ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The regionally-ranked St. Olaf College women's soccer team posted its largest margin of victory in the all-time series with Bethel University in a 7-0 road win to open Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play on Wednesday afternoon at Ona Orth Athletic Complex.

Senior Sadie Klassen scored the second hat trick of her collegiate career to lead the way for St. Olaf (6-0-1, 1-0-0 MIAC), which recorded its highest goal tally in a game since a 7-1 victory at Grinnell College on Sept. 1, 2009. Prior to Wednesday, the last six meetings between the Oles and Bethel (4-2-1, 0-1-0 MIAC) had all been decided by a single goal. St. Olaf was ranked No. 8 in this week's United Soccer Coaches Region IX Poll.

In addition to the offensive outburst, St. Olaf registered its fifth consecutive shutout while extending its shutout streak to 539:03, which is the program's longest stretch without allowing a goal since 2011. Sophomore Wren VanDeWalker, junior Cat Duffy-Shaw, junior Marit Klagge, and junior Chloe Valleau were also on the scoresheet for the Oles in the win.

St. Olaf twice scored two goals in the span of less than two minutes in the opening half to log its first four-goal half since the first half of a 4-1 victory at UW-Stevens Point on Oct. 22, 2011. Klassen accomplished the feat on her own with goals in the seventh and ninth minutes, with sophomore Emily Johnson and junior Clara Kubis setting up the goals, which came 1:39 apart. Klassen's opening goal extended her goal-scoring streak to four games, while her second gave her the second multi-goal game of her career.

Later in the half, Duffy-Shaw and Klagge found the back of the net 1:47 apart to make it a 4-0 game at the break. In the 34th minute, junior Megan Timmerman slid the ball across the top of the box to Duffy-Shaw, who slotted the ball into the lower-left corner for her second goal of the season. Less than two minutes later, first year Rachel Anderson collected her first collegiate point by sending a cross into the box that Klagge turned in in front to cap the four-goal half.

St. Olaf continued its barrage in the second half with three goals in a 13-minute stretch. Klassen finished off the first hat trick by an Ole since her three-goal effort against the College of St. Scholastica on Sept. 27, 2022 by converting a penalty kick in the 54th minute after she was hauled down in the box. VanDeWalker tallied her first collegiate goal in the 63rd minute with a left-footed shot from the top of the box to the lower-right corner, with first year Avery Sames earning her first collegiate point with an assist on the goal.

Valleau closed out the scoring 3:28 after VanDeWalker's goal by tucking the ball into the lower-left corner after Klagge squared the ball to the junior in front. The goal was the second of Valleau's career after she scored once in her first year at Folsom Lake College in 2022-23.

Sophomore Clara Luger recorded her fourth shutout of the season – St. Olaf's sixth in seven games this fall – by stopping all four shots on goal the Royals generated. Bethel entered the game averaging 3.0 goals per game with 18 goals in its first six contests. The Oles have outscored their opponents by an 18-1 margin through seven games.

St. Olaf continues MIAC play by hosting St. Catherine University in a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 21 at Rolf Mellby Field.