NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The No. 1-ranked and top-seeded St. Olaf College men's soccer team won its sixth Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoff title by edging No. 22-ranked and third-seeded Saint John's University in a shootout following a 1-1 tie on Saturday afternoon at Rolf Mellby Field.
Junior
Blaine Batchelor gave St. Olaf (17-0-4) a 1-0 halftime lead with a 28th-minute header, but Saint John's (17-2-3) leveled it at 1-1 in the 51st minute through Grady Monette. The game remained tied for the final nearly 60 minutes of regulation and overtime, sending the teams to penalty kicks.
In the shootout, the Oles went 4-for-4 on their penalty kicks and junior
Beckett Carlson stopped two of the Johnnies' three attempts, in addition to scoring his, to clinch their fourth MIAC Playoff title in the last five seasons (2022, 2023, 2024, 2026). With the win, St. Olaf secured an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and will find out more details during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, Nov. 9 at 10 a.m. CT.
The Oles cold have had three goals in the opening 12-plus minutes, starting with a long kick from the back by Carlson that bounced over the Saint John's goalkeeper's head in the second minute, but Austin Ertel recovered to grab the ball before it crossed the line. Hess and junior
Mateo Ormaza had close-range shots saved by Ertel seconds apart in the fourth minute before Ertel denied sophomore
Jay Carroll and a Johnnie defender cleared the ricochet off the line in the 12th minute.
Saint John's came within inches of going ahead early when Jacob Oliver's header hit the near post off a corner kick in the 16th minute. St. Olaf got the opening goal in the 28th minute when Batchelor headed the ball in at the back post after junior
Kymani Chitulangoma got his head to a long throw-in by senior
Ryan Bechtel.
With the Oles still holding the 1-0 lead, Ormaza had a 71st-minute effort cleared off the line by the Johnnies to keep the visitors within a goal. In overtime, the best chance fell to Eli Ryan for Saint John's, but his shot with 30 seconds remaining hit the bar, sending the teams to the shootout.
After sophomore
Daniel Valdes buried the first attempt, Carlson saved Ryan's penalty kick in the lower-left corner before stepping up to dispatch his spot kick to make it 2-0. After Aiden Buckneberg and senior
Ryan Bechtel both scored their attempts, Carlson made a save on Billy Cornett to set the stage for junior
Calvin Hess to score the decisive attempt to give the Oles their second win in as many shootouts in MIAC Playoff title games (2023).
