ST. PAUL, Minn. – The regionally-ranked St. Olaf College women's soccer team scored three times in the span of just over 10 minutes of game time spanning halftime in 4-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) win over Macalester College on Saturday afternoon at Macalester Stadium.
St. Olaf (10-2-3, 6-2-0 MIAC) broke a 1-1 tie on a goal by first year
Lillian Miller in the final three minutes of the first half and added two goals from senior
Emily Johnson early in the second half to down Macalester (6-8-0, 4-4-0 MIAC). The three-goal margin was the largest for an Ole win over the Scots since a 4-1 victory on Sept. 30, 1987. St. Olaf was ranked No. 3 in this week's United Soccer Coaches Region IX Poll.
Johnson's two-goal second half saw her break St. Olaf's single-season goals record with her 20th and 21st goals of the season in her eighth multi-goal performance of the year. Johnson, who surpassed the 20-goal season by Hall of Famer Karen Schwartzbauer '87 in 1985, has scored in 12 of the Oles' 15 games this season. Johnson entered the game with a three-goal cushion as the leading scorer in NCAA Division III this season and reached 50 goals for her career with the two-goal performance.
St. Olaf wasted little time in taking the lead as senior
Roxanne Rundle scored from over 30 yards out just 2:35 in for her third goal of the season. The Oles maintained their 1-0 lead until Ellen Fischer's 38th-minute goal brought Macalester level at 1-1.
In the closing minutes of the opening half, Miller broke the tie with the eventual game-winning goal, as the first year raced onto a pass from junior
Rachel Anderson up the right channel and got enough power on her shot to get it off the goalkeeper's hands and in. Miller's goal was her third of the season, while Anderson picked up her fourth assist of the year.
The Oles broke the game open with two goals in the first eight minutes of the second half, both scored by Johnson. In the 49th minute, sophomore
Emma Boyle picked out Johnson, who slotted the ball into the lower-left corner to make it 3-1. Just over four minutes later, Johnson steered in a cross from senior
Wren VanDeWalker for what proved to be the final goal of the game.
Macalester finished with a 12-10 edge in shots, although St. Olaf had an 8-5 edge in shots on goal. Sophomore
Charlotte Percy became the third Ole goalkeeper to record 20 career victories with a four-save afternoon. Abigail Heuga made four stops in the loss for the Scots.
The Oles will host the College of Saint Benedict in their final home game of the regular season at Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 3:30 p.m. The Bennies are currently one of two teams tied for second in the MIAC standings with 19 points, one point ahead of St. Olaf in fourth.
