NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The fourth-ranked St. Olaf College men's soccer team returned to the national semifinals for the second time in three seasons with a 2-0 victory over Wheaton College (Mass.) in the quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon at Rolf Mellby Field.

Sophomore Jack Soares scored in the fourth minute and in the final minute for St. Olaf (20-2-3), which blanked Wheaton (17-2-4) in the first-ever meeting between the two programs to advance to the "Final Four" for the second time in program history (2023, 2025). With the win, the Oles will face No. 1-ranked Tufts University in the national semifinals on Friday, Dec. 5 in Salem, Va., the site of St. Olaf's 2023 national championship. The game will be played at either 2 p.m. CST or 5:30 p.m. CST.

Facing a team that had only lost once all season and had only allowed one opponent to score multiple goals in a game this season, St. Olaf got an early goal from Soares inside the opening four minutes and maintained the slender advantage until the sophomore struck again with 57 seconds remaining to seal the victory. The two-goal performance was the third of the season for Soares, who had a hat trick against Pacific Lutheran in the season opener on Aug. 29 and two goals at Concordia-Moorhead on Oc.t 18.

Soares got the Oles on the board with the first shot of the game in the fourth minute off junior Ryan Bechtel's 13th assist of the season. Bechtel slipped a ball in behind the Wheaton back line that Soares ran onto and steered past the goalkeeper and a Lyons' defender on the line for the opening goal. Bechtel's 13 assists are tied for the second-highest single-season total in program history.

Sophomore Ryan Wilson had an opportunity in the 10th minute to double St. Olaf's lead but was unable to steer a header on frame when found unmarked in the middle by first year Tustin Todd. Soares could not steer a shot on frame with the outside of his right foot when he got a look at goal in the box after cutting past a Wheaton defender in the 17th minute.

After St. Olaf outshot Wheaton by a 6-3 margin in the opening half, the visitors held a 9-3 advantage in the second half, as the Lyons piled on the pressure for most of the final 45 minutes. Just over two minutes into the half, senior Jack Hobday made the most difficult of his four saves by reacting quickly to get a hand to a shot by Gael Vera from just outside of the six-yard box.

Hobday also made a save on a well-struck effort by Austin Hoadley that was straight at Hobday in the 75th minute and two more in the final 10 minutes to help the Oles hold off the Lyons. Soares ended any thought of a Wheaton comeback by scoring his second goal of the game in the final minute with a left-footed shot from the middle of the box that went inside the left post. Soares' 14 goals this season are tied for fifth in single-season program history.

Hobday improved to 14-2-1 on the season with his seventh shutout of the year. Wheaton ended up with a 4-3 edge in shots on goal in the game. In the final home game of their careers, the St. Olaf senior class improved to 39-4-7 at Rolf Mellby Field with the win.