NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The regionally-ranked St. Olaf College women's soccer team remained unbeaten at home with a 4-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) win over the College of St. Scholastica on Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at Rolf Mellby Field.
Senior
Emily Johnson added to her nation-leading goal total with two more and classmate
Wren VanDeWalker set the program's single-season assists record in the win for St. Olaf (9-1-3, 5-1-0 MIAC), which improved to 6-0-1 at home this season. The Oles, who were ranked No. 3 in the United Soccer Coaches Region IX Poll this week, fired 53 shots and 23 shots on goal in the shutout of St. Scholastica (5-8-0, 1-5-0 MIAC).
St. Olaf's 53 shots were its most since having 56 in a 4-0 victory over Finlandia University on Sept. 12, 2021, while the Oles' 23 shots on goal were their most since having 27 in a 3-1 win against UW-Stout on Sept. 5, 2019.
Johnson's two-goal afternoon raised her NCAA Division III-leading goal total to 19 this season, which is one shy of the program record set by Karen Schwartzbauer '87 in 1985. VanDeWalker's assist on first year
Lillian Miller's late goal gave her 10 for the season, breaking a tie with
Cat Duffy-Shaw '26 for the single-season program record.
Prior to the game, the team celebrated its six-member senior class of
Lily Spoerke,
Clara Luger,
Roxanne Rundle, VanDeWalker, Johnson, and
Lillian Rediger and their families on the field prior to the class' 44th career victory.
Johnson got St. Olaf on the board early with a fourth-minute goal, scoring on a rebound off a shot by Rediger, who picked up her third assist of the season. The game remained 1-0 at halftime despite St. Olaf outshooting St. Scholastica by a 19-1 margin while playing into winds gusting to 30 miles per hour in the opening 45 minutes. The game was also played in near-record temperatures in the mid-to-upper 80s.
Playing with the wind in the second half, the Oles fired 34 more shots during the final 45 minutes and were rewarded with three goals after the break. With the score still at 1-0 in the 65th minute, Johnson cut towards the middle and fired a right-footed shot that flew inside the right post for her 19th goal of the season.
First year
Aida Engle netted her first collegiate goal to make it 3-0 in the 77th minute, as Engle's right-footed shot took a slight deflection and looped into the top-right corner of the goal. Miller capped the scoring by poking in a corner kick by VanDeWalker in the 87th minute for her second goal of the season.
Sophomore
Charlotte Percy took sole possession of third place in program history with the 19th victory of her career and only had one save to make in 70-plus minutes in net. Spoerke and Luger split the final 20 minutes in net, with Luger making one stop late on. Chloe Patrick kept the Saints in the game with 15 saves in 84-plus minutes.
St. Olaf will head to St. Catherine University for a 4 p.m. game on Tuesday, Oct. 13 in St. Paul. The Oles are currently second in the MIAC standings, two points ahead of St. Kate's and the College of Saint Benedict who are tied for third.
