NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's soccer team was denied a win on a last-second goal by the College of Saint Benedict in a 1-1 tie between the regionally-ranked teams on Tuesday afternoon at Rolf Mellby Field.
St. Olaf (10-2-4, 6-2-1 MIAC) got a 60th-minute goal from junior
Rachel Anderson to open the scoring and maintained the lead until Eva Gower put in a rebound off her own shot from the corner of the six-yard box to give Saint Ben's (11-1-2, 6-1-2 MIAC) a point. The Bennies were ranked No. 6 in this week's United Soccer Coaches Region IX Poll, while the Oles were ranked No. 7.
In a game where St. Olaf had 62 percent of the possession and outshot Saint Ben's by a 21-10 margin overall and a 12-5 margin in shots on goal, the Bennies stayed one point ahead of the Oles in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) standings. With two games remaining in the conference play, Saint Ben's is currently in third place with 20 points, one point ahead of St. Olaf in fourth. The Oles can clinch a playoff spot if Bethel University fails to beat Augsburg University later on Tuesday evening.
After a scoreless first half where St. Olaf had 69 percent possession and a 13-3 advantage in shots, the Oles finally made the breakthrough in the 60th minute on Anderson's eighth goal of the season. Sophomore
Emma Boyle set up the goal by intercepting a pass and playing the ball through for Anderson, who slid the ball in past the advancing goalkeeper. Anderson's goal was just the eighth goal conceded by the Bennies in 14 games this season.
St. Olaf continued to control possession until the final 15 minutes or so when Saint Ben's started to put on more pressure in search of the equalizer. In the 85th minute, Gower fired a shot straight at sophomore
Charlotte Percy after controlling a cross from the eight. Gower eventually got the Bennies' equalizer by scoring off a rebound after Percy got down to save Gower's initial shot from the top of the box, but Gower got to the rebound first to slot it in from the left corner of the six-yard box before the clock expired.
Percy finished the game with four saves for the Oles, while two goalkeeper combined for 11 saves for the Bennies.
St. Olaf's final three games of the regular season will all be away from home, starting with a 1 p.m. kickoff at Bethel on Saturday, Oct. 24.
