DECORAH, Iowa – The St. Olaf College men's soccer team and Luther College exchanged set-piece goals in a 1-1 tie between the two regionally-ranked teams on Sunday evening at Luther Soccer Field.
Junior
Robi Buzakovic gave St. Olaf (4-3-1) a 1-0 halftime lead with a penalty kick towards the end of the first half, but Nels Mortenson equalized for Luther (2-3-4) following a corner kick as the two teams settled for just the second tie in the all-time series between the two programs. The Oles were ranked No. 4 in this week's United Soccer Coaches Region IX Poll, while the Norse came in at No. 7.
In the 35th minute, St. Olaf earned a penalty kick when senior
Shea Bechtel forced a turnover at midfield and raced down the left side into the Luther box before being hauled down by a Norse defender when cutting towards the middle. Buzakovic stepped up to convert from the spot for his third goal in the last four games to move into a tie for the team lead with three goals on the season.
The Oles outshot the Norse by an 8-2 margin in the opening half, but the hosts controlled the bulk of the play in the second half by holding a 15-5 advantage in shots after the break. Senior
Peter Forseth made a pair of saves to preserve the lead for St. Olaf at the time. Forseth raced forward to deny a shot by Javier Pastor Valls in a 1-on-1 situation in the 60th minute before tipping a header by Raul Ferrandez that was headed towards the top-left corner out for a corner in the 73rd minute.
The Norse found a tying goal just a couple of minutes later when Mortenson put the ball home from close range after Ferrandez hit the crossbar with an effort off a corner kick by Luther. The hosts nearly found a winner twice in the final 10 minutes, but Forseth raced off his line to stop a shot by Ferrandez with 10 minutes to go before Enrique Lopez-Barriga blazed a shot over the net from close range with the net open.
With a four-save evening, Forseth moved up one spot to fifth in program history with 142 saves for his career.
St. Olaf will host No. 11-ranked UW-Eau Claire in a non-conference contest on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 4 p.m. The Blugolds were ranked No. 2 in this week's regional poll.
