ST. PAUL, Minn. – The third-seeded St. Olaf College women's soccer team saw its season end with a 1-0 loss to second-seeded St. Catherine University in the semifinals of the 2026 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs on Thursday afternoon at St. Kate's Soccer Field.
After defeating St. Olaf (14-3-4) by a 5-1 margin during the regular season, St. Kate's (15-3-1) got an early goal from Bella Meier and held onto the lead to advance to the championship game. Meier had two goals and one assist in the regular-season meeting on Oct. 13.
The Oles saw their season end in the semifinals of the MIAC Playoffs for the third season in a row and fourth time in the last five seasons. St. Olaf's 14 wins this season are tied for the second-highest total in program history, trailing only last season's team and tying the 2024 team.
St. Kate's forced sophomore
Charlotte Percy into a diving save just 34 seconds in and had three shots in the first four minutes before Meier headed in a cross from Ari Douvier in the fifth minute for the lone goal of the game. The Wildcats outshot the Oles by a 7-1 margin in the first half, but Percy's five saves helped keep the deficit at one.
St. Olaf generated six shots in goal in the second half, including four in the final 10-plus minutes, but Brianna Valdez stopped all six to post the shutout for St. Kate's. The Wildcats finished the game with a 12-8 lead in overall shots and a 9-7 edge in shots on goal. Percy made eight saves in the loss for the Oles.
