ST. PAUL, Minn. – The second-ranked St. Olaf College men's soccer team clinched its fourth consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) regular-season title with a 1-0 victory at Hamline University on Saturday afternoon at Pat Paterson Field.
A 42nd-minute penalty kick by junior
Daniel Valdes was enough to earn St. Olaf (16-0-3, 9-0-1 MIAC) the 11th MIAC regular-season title in program history (1984, 1992, 1998, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2021, 2023-26) with the victory over Hamline (4-11-3, 1-7-2 MIAC). The win also extended the Oles' MIAC regular-season unbeaten streak to 42 games (36-0-6), as St. Olaf did not lose a conference game for the fifth time in the last six seasons.
On a day where St. Olaf had two goals ruled out for offsides and had a second penalty kick saved, Valdes' spot kick shortly before halftime stood as the lone goal of the game. The penalty kick was the first goal of the junior's career and came after junior
Ryan Wilson was tripped in the box.
Early in the second half, St. Olaf had a goal chalked off after sophomore
Jay Carroll headed the ball in from close range after sophomore
Tustin Todd's free kick hit the far post. Hamline's Alec Setterberg saved a penalty kick taken by junior goalkeeper
Beckett Carlson in the 57th minute after Wilson was again taken down in the box.
The Oles outshot the Pipers by counts of 13-3 overall and 9-0 in shots on goal and had seven of the game's eight corner kicks. Carlson did not have a save to make in his ninth shutout of the season. After fourth-ranked St. Lawrence University fell from the ranks of the unbeaten, St. Olaf is one of three remaining teams in NCAA Division III that have not lost this season.
The Oles will await the results of Tuesday's two quarterfinal games to learn who it will face in the semifinals at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 5 at Rolf Mellby Field. St. Olaf will face the lowest remaining seed, while the highest remaining seed will face second-seeded Gustavus Adolphus College.
