NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The third-seeded St. Olaf College women's soccer team got a goal from junior Wren VanDeWalker in the first minute of the second half and went on to shut out sixth-seeded Saint Mary's University by a 1-0 score in the quarterfinals of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs on Monday afternoon at Rolf Mellby Field.

In a game that included just three combined shots on goal, VanDeWalker's 46th-minute goal was the difference to send St. Olaf (15-2-2) past Saint Mary's (10-6-3) and into the semifinals with its program-record 15th victory of the season. The Oles will head across town to face second-seeded Carleton College in the semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. following their third-ever victory in the tournament.

VanDeWalker struck just 50 seconds into the second half with a left-footed shot from roughly 25 yards out that hit the underside of the crossbar and went over the line for her fourth goal of the season. Senior Cat Duffy-Shaw picked up her ninth assist of the season – the program-record 23rd of her career – after tapping the ball to VanDeWalker for the strike.

St. Olaf held Saint Mary's to just five shots – none on target – in the game to record its 12th shutout in 19 games this season to end a brief two-game winless spell to finish the regular season. The Oles' 15 victories this season are one more than last year's previous record of 14.

St. Olaf had chances to open the scoring in the first half, outshooting the visitors by a 9-2 margin before the teams went into the break deadlocked at 0-0. Junior Emily Johnson forced Anna Peckosh to tip a long-range shot over for a corner kick in the 13th minute before senior Katie Beaudry's looping header hit the cross back off the resulting corner.

In the 26th minute, VanDeWalker's shot from the left side of the box glanced off the crossbar and stayed out. Senior Chloe Valleau and Duffy-Shaw both had shots from the top of the box that went narrowly over the bar in the final 10 minutes of the half.

First year Charlotte Percy did not face a shot on goal in recording her program-record 13th victory of the season, breaking a tie with Kathy Ballard, who had 12 wins in 1999. It was also Percy's ninth shutout of the season, one shy of Kara Olson's record of 10 set in 2002.