NORTHFIELD, Minn. – In a matchup between two of the top teams in the region, the St. Olaf College women's soccer team and crosstown-rival Carleton College played to a 1-1 tie in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opener for both teams on Tuesday afternoon at Rolf Mellby Field.

Carleton (3-1-2, 0-0-1 MIAC), which fell out of the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 earlier in the day, took an early lead on a header off a corner kick by Ashlyn Haigh and held onto the lead until junior Emily Johnson scored the game-tying goal in the 59th minute for St. Olaf (5-1-1, 0-0-1 MIAC). Both teams were ranked in the top six in the United Soccer Coaches Region IX Poll released on Tuesday, with the Knights at No. 4 and the Oles at No. 6.

In the third consecutive tie between the two teams, St. Olaf outshot Carleton by a 14-2 margin overall and an 8-1 count in shots on goal and controlled 63 percent of the possession. Haigh's header was the Knights' lone shot of the first half and the visitors' only other attempt came in the 76th minute.

Carleton got the early goal via Haigh's back-post header into the roof of the net off a corner kick from Sam Gotch on the right. St. Olaf took the final seven shots of the opening half and nearly tied the game twice on corner kicks of its own.

In the 17th minute, a corner kick eventually led to a one-timer by senior Chloe Valleau from near the penalty spot, but Valleau's shot was straight at Carleton goalkeeper Avery Trapp. In the final two minutes of the half, senior Katie Beaudry had a look in the box after a corner but could not get much on her effort.

St. Olaf was rewarded for its pressure early in the second half when Johnson tucked the ball inside the near post after senior Megan Timmerman and junior Wren VanDeWalker combined on the left side to allow VanDeWalker to pick out Johnson. The goal was Johnson's team-leading and career-high eighth of the season, six of which have come in her last three games. VanDeWalker's assist marked her fourth game in a row with either a goal or an assist, while Timmerman picked up her first assist of the season.

The Oles nearly took the lead just minutes after Johnson's strike, but Trapp stopped Johnson's shot from the top of the box in the 62nd minute and, moments later, leapt to parry a shot by sophomore Avery Sames that was headed towards the top-left corner out for a corner kick. Trapp made seven saves in the game for the Knights, while first year Charlotte Percy did not have a save to make after being beaten by Haigh's header.

St. Olaf will be back home on Saturday, Sept. 20 for a 3:30 p.m. Senior Day meeting with Macalester College.