NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The only thing higher than the tension during the Carleton College men's soccer game against crosstown rival St. Olaf College was the stakes. The visiting Oles scored first, but Justin Crawmer (Fy./Urbandale, Iowa/Waukee) found the equalizer soon after and Charlie Hall (So./LaGrange, Ill./Lyons Township) notched the overtime game-winner as the Knights notched a 2-1 comeback victory that clinched a MIAC-record 13th consecutive playoff berth for Carleton.
 
Coming into today's match, only a single point separated the Knights (13-3-1, 6-2-1 MIAC) from the Oles (9-8-0, 5-4-0 MIAC) in the MIAC standings.
 
In addition to the huge implications in the playoff chase, the match also symbolized the final regular season home game for the Knights' senior class. Thanks to the contributions from Kamran Kelly (St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Central), Bryan Kim (Middleton, Wis./Middleton), and Spencer Weeden (Stoughton, Wis./Stoughton) both on and off the field, Carleton secured a first-round home playoff game, so their run at Bell Field is not done yet.
 
As for the game itself, it was an intense, evenly matched affair from the two clubs. The Knights finished with a 16-13 shot advantage and a 7-2 edge in corner kicks, but other than that not much else separated the two sides in the Northfield Derby.
 
In the first half, Carleton nearly opened the scoring off a couple of beautiful crosses from  junior midfielder Brennan Johnson (Portland, Ore./Grant), but the home team was unable to capitalize on either chance. In the 14th minute, Tonny Aton (So./Nairobi, Kenya/Lukenya) ran onto the first opportunity but pushed his shot just past the left post. Moments later Marco da Cunha (So./San Francisco, Calif./San Francisco University) came thundering into the box and smashed a header off another one of Johnson's passes towards goal, but St. Olaf goalkeeper Hamza Osman leapt off his feet and parried the shot over the bar.
 
After absorbing these initial blows, St. Olaf struck back with a chance of their own in the 26th minute. An attempted clearance pinballed around Carleton's box before Thierno Gueye controlled the loose ball and rocket a shot towards the right corner of the goal. Thankfully for the Knights, Aaron Forman (Jr./Los Angeles, Calif./Windward School) made a lunging save to his left to ensure that the game went into halftime knotted up at 0-0.
 
The Oles built off their growing momentum to start the second half and scored a deserving opening goal in the 61st minute after a dominant spell of possession. Will Douglas ran onto the end of a through ball in the box, rounded the goalie, and slotted home his shot into the empty net.
 
Carleton kicked into another gear and got back on the offensive. In the 71st minute, da Cunha won a ball on the left-flank and proceeded to make a driving run alongside the goal line before sliding a pass back into the center of the box, a ball which Crawmer smashed over the goalie to tie the game.
 
Neither team could break the deadlock, so the game headed to overtime.
 
Throughout the first extra session, the two rival schools jostled for position and a guaranteed spot in the postseason. With the final overtime period looming in the shadows, the Knights returned to a similar approach to the one that worked for the first goal, with Hall ultimately scoring the game winner in the 98th minute.
 
Aton collected a long ball and slid a pass to da Cunha, who made a direct run skimming the left end line before passing the ball back into the box to Hall, who finished assertively into the right side of the net.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS: Carleton will close regular-season play with a trip to Collegeville, Minn. to battle Saint John's University on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 3:30 p.m. The Knights have locked up a top-four finish in the MIAC and will host a first-round playoff match on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at a time still to be determined.