ST. PAUL, Minn. – The No. 2-ranked St. Olaf College men's soccer team scored three times in the span of 4:03 early in the second half on its way to a 3-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) victory over Macalester College on Saturday afternoon at Macalester Stadium.
After a scoreless first half, St. Olaf (13-0-2, 6-0-0 MIAC) struck three times early in the second half, getting a goal from junior
Calvin Hess and two own goals from Macalester (5-4-4, 3-3-1 MIAC) in the flurry. With the win, the Oles remained one of six unbeaten teams in NCAA Division III and stretched the MIAC regular-season unbeaten streak to 38 games (32-0-6).
St. Olaf was ranked No. 2 in this week's United Soccer Coaches national poll, while the Scots received votes in the Region IX rankings. Although he did not record an assist in the game, sophomore
Tustin Todd's service led to all three of the Oles' goals in the victory.
After being outshot by an 8-6 margin in the first half, St. Olaf took 12 of the game's 14 shots in the second half and was rewarded with three goals. Hess opened the scoring in the 54th minute with his second goal of the season, scoring on a rebound after junior
Blaine Batchelor's back-post header hit the post off a corner kick by Todd.
Less than four minutes later, another Todd corner kick resulted in an own goal by a Scot, who headed the ball in at the near post. Macalester scored another own goal just 30 seconds later when a Scot turned the ball in off Todd's cross from the left.
The Scots got a late consolation goal from Chris Frantz in the 81st minute but did not generate a shot after Frantz's strike.
St. Olaf's second-half push resulted in an 18-10 advantage in shots in the game, including a 7-4 edge in shots on goal. The Oles also had nine corner kicks and limited the Scots to just one. Junior
Beckett Carlson had three saves in the win.
In its final home game of the regular season, St. Olaf will host Saint John's University at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21. The Johnnies were ranked No. 21 nationally this week.
