NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Juniors
Jack Soares and
Charlie Piller provided the goals for the second-ranked St. Olaf College men's soccer team in a 2-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) victory over Saint Mary's University on Saturday at a rainy Rolf Mellby Field.
In a physical game that included 31 fouls and seven yellow cards, St. Olaf (7-0-0, 1-0-0 MIAC) got an early goal from Soares and a highlight-reel goal from Piller midway through the second half to extend its winning streak to 20 in the series with Saint Mary's (0-4-1, 0-1-0 MIAC). The Oles have outscored the Cardinals by a 62-8 margin over the run of 20 consecutive victories that started in 2006.
The win gave St. Olaf wins in its first seven games of the season for the first time since 1989 and was the Oles' fifth consecutive shutout of Saint Mary's.
Soares gave the Oles an early lead by slotting the ball inside the far post with his left foot after Piller got by a defender and found Soares in the box for Soares' team-leading sixth goal of the season. Soares has scored in each of St. Olaf's last four games, with all six of his goals this season coming during that stretch.
Shortly after the goal, the Oles had a slew of opportunities to extend their lead before the game was 10 minutes old. In the eighth minute, Soares' close-range shot was saved and Piller hit the woodwork on the follow-up. After Piller's shot came back off the post, St. Olaf was given a penalty kick for a handball by a Saint Mary's defender, but Ryan Horlock saved senior
Ryan Bechtel's penalty kick to keep it 1-0.
Saint Mary's got a penalty kick of its own in the 27th minute after a Cardinal was judged to have been dragged down while jumping for a header off a free kick floated into the box. Junior
Beckett Carlson preserved the Oles' lead by saving the spot kick, as St. Olaf took the 1-0 lead into the halftime break after outshooting the Cardinals by a 7-1 margin.
After setting up Soares' opener, Piller scored on a deft chip over the advancing goalkeeper in the 67th minute after sophomore
Jay Carroll skipped past a Cardinal along the left sideline and eventually back-heeled the ball to Piller. The goal was Piller's second of the season.
St. Olaf finished the game with an 18-10 advantage in shots, which included an 8-3 edge in shots on goal. The Oles had 11 corner kicks compared to just one for the Cardinals. Carlson logged his fifth shutout in seven starts this season with a three-save afternoon, while Horlock totaled five saves for the visitors.
On Wednesday, Sept. 23, St. Olaf will travel south to face Luther College in a 7 p.m. start in Decorah, Iowa.
