NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's soccer team played to a 0-0 tie with the University of Chicago to close out its opening weekend on Sunday afternoon at Rolf Mellby Field.

In a matchup of teams that have met at least once in each of the last five seasons, St. Olaf (1-0-1) more than doubled up UChicago (0-1-1) in shots (21-12), shots on goal (10-4), and corner kicks (10-4) but was unable to get on the board. The scoreless tie was the first in the seven all-time meetings between the two programs.

In his first collegiate start, sophomore Beckett Carlson claimed the shutout for the Oles by stopping all four shots on goal the Maroons generated in the game. Ali Alamery logged a 10-save shutout for the visitors.

Junior Abdirasak Bulale had the first scoring chance of the game but fired just wide on a free kick from 30 yards out. Later in the half, the Oles had a pair of scoring chances following a corner kick, but Alamery denied sophomores Ryan Wilson and Kymani Chitulangoma from close range. St. Olaf held an 8-5 edge in shots in the opening half.

The two teams combined for 20 shots in the second half, with St. Olaf tallying 13 and UChicago seven, but neither team was able to find the breakthrough. With 20 minutes to go, the Maroons nearly got on the board, but Carlson got a piece of a shot by William Stewart that caromed off the woodwork and stayed out. Alamery recorded four of his 10 saves in the final 10-plus minutes to help the visitors keep the Oles at bay.

St. Olaf will begin a stretch of three consecutive road games with a trip to Mankato to face Bethany Lutheran College at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 5 at Scheels Field.