NORTHFIELD, Minn. - The Carleton College men's soccer team come out victorious on Senior Day at Bell Field, defeating Macalester College 1-0 thanks to Marco da Cunha's (Sr./San Francisco, Calif./San Francisco University) goal in the 70th minute.
 
The first half was truly a battle. Prior to the match, Carleton (8-3-2, 6-2-0 MIAC) head coach Bob Carlson said that he expected it to be one of the toughest tests of the season, and he was correct. While no goals were scored in the opening stanza, the teams traded chances, with Macalester (7-7-0, 4-3-0 MIAC) claiming most of theirs early in the half.
 
The second half opened much the same as the first, with both teams trading blows, although Carleton looked to be gaining a slight edge. In the 70th minute, the Scots had a corner kick chance, but it was quickly deflected out by the Carleton defense. The Knights found senior forward Tonny Aton (Sr./Nairobi, Kenya/Lukenya) on a run already behind the Macalester backline. Aton raced to the goal and his shot was deflected by Macalester goalkeeper Cade Fink, but da Cunha had followed the run and was able to clean up the deflection and score with Fink out of position.
 
The goal was da Cunha's 25th of his Carleton career, moving him into 4th place all time in program history (see chart below).
 
Carleton finished with slight advantages in shots (13-10), shots on goal (3-2), and corner kicks (6-3), while Macalester held a slight edge in possession (51 percent to 49 percent).
 
The Knights' backline of Henry Koelling (Sr./Ann Arbor, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central), Justin Crawmer (Jr./Urbandale, Iowa/Waukee), Riaz Kelly (So./St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Central), and Colin Kroll (So./Wilton, Conn./Pomfret School) limited the Scots to only two shots on goal. Alexei Thomas (Jr./Northwood, United Kingdom/Merchant Taylors School) stopped both of those opportunities in registering his third shutout of the campaign.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton starts a four-game road stint to end the season with a non-conference matchup at Lake Forest (Ill.) College on Monday, Oct 18 at 1:00 p.m.
 
Most Career Goals in Carleton Men's Soccer History
1.  41 – Branden McGarrity – 2012-15
2.  35 – Tim Wills – 2008-11
3.  28 – Bobby Phillips – 2005-08
4.  25 – Yemi Adegunju – 2001-04
4.  25 – Marco da Cunha – 2018-pres
6.  24 – Ron Sanders – 1962-64
6.  24 – G. Monyemangene – 1985-88
6.  24 – David Watson – 2002-05
9.  23 – Ken Tape – 1995-98
10.  20 – Wes Elfman – 2007-10
       20 – Miles Silbert – 2008-11
       20 – Will Corcoran – 2010-13