MOORHEAD, Minn. – The fifth-ranked St. Olaf College men's soccer team locked up a top-two seed and a bye into the semifinals of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs with a 5-0 road victory over Concordia-Moorhead on Saturday afternoon at Cobber Soccer Field.
Sophomore
Jack Soares scored twice in the span of 31 seconds early on as part of a three-goal first half that sent St. Olaf (13-1-2, 8-0-0 MIAC) to the five-goal win over Concordia (0-10-4, 0-6-1 MIAC). The Oles have outscored the Cobbers by a 24-2 margin over their run of five consecutive victories in the series.
The victory also extended St. Olaf's current unbeaten streak to 10 games (9-0-1) and the program's MIAC regular-season unbeaten streak to 30 games (25-0-5). The Oles were ranked No. 5 in this week's United Soccer Coaches national poll and No. 10 in the most recent update of the NCAA Power Index (NPI), which is the tool used to select teams for the NCAA Tournament.
Soares got into double figures on the season by scoring twice 31 seconds apart inside the first 11 minutes of the game. The sophomore opened the scoring by tapping the ball in in front after senior
Robi Buzakovic sent a long diagonal to the left to first year
Tustin Todd, who centered the ball for Soares. Less than one minute later, Soares fired the ball home after a centering pass from sophomore
Lucas Montera made its way to Soares in the box.
Senior
Dimitri Nair pushed St. Olaf's lead to 3-0 at halftime by blasting in a left-footed shot in the 19th minute after a loose ball rolled to Nair on the left side of the box. The goal was Nair's fourth of the season and second in the last three games.
In the second half, the Oles added two more goals, with the first coming from sophomore
Charlie Piller in the 55th minute, as Piller was on hand to score from close range after senior
Caspar Olseth flicked on a long throw from junior
Ryan Bechtel. Bechtel's assist was his 12th of the season, which leads the nation at the NCAA Division III level.
Olseth completed the scoring five minutes later with his first goal of the season, heading in a free kick from Buzakovic from the left wing. St. Olaf held a 21-6 advantage in shots in the game, including a 10-3 mark in shots on goal.
Senior
Jack Hobday and first year
Alex Keekley combined for three saves in a combined shutout for St. Olaf, while Jack Solheid had five stops for the Cobbers.
The Oles will host Hamline University on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at 3:30 p.m. with a chance to secure the MIAC regular-season title.