NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Playing a man down for the final 20 minutes, the Carleton College men's soccer battled back to tie visiting College of St. Scholastica, 1-1. By virtue of picking up a point in the standings coupled with results elsewhere around the conference, the Knights clinched a spot in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs for the 15th consecutive time, extending the program's conference record.
Carleton moved to 4-1-1 in October and is now 7-5-3 overall (5-3-1 MIAC). St. Scholastica (5-8-3, 3-4-1 MIAC) moved into a tie with Saint John's University for sixth place in the conference standings.
The Knights finished with a 15-11 edge in total shots, but the Saints held a 6-4 edge in shots on goal.
Early in the game,
Blake Jones (So./Urbandale, Iowa./Waukee) played a beautiful ball through the Saints' backline to his brother
Trevor Jones (Sr./Urbandale, Iowa./Waukee), but goalkeeper Liam Lothian came off of his line to break up the play. It would not be the last close chance of the half for Carleton, which managed to register eight shots before intermission.
St Scholastica turned up the offensive pressure in the second half and broke the scoreline in the 68th minute with what proved to be a class buildup of team play. After a few quick passes in the Knight's defensive half, substitute Jordan Finneran placed a shot into the lower left-hand corner for a goal.
Only two minutes later, a red card forced Carleton to only 10 men on the pitch.
As they've proven before this season, a little adversity never thwarted the efforts of the Knights.
Ben Pennell (Fy./San Francisco, Calif./Lick-Wilmerding) tried his luck in the 85th minute with an absolute wonder shot from 30 yards out. The ball sailed over the Saints keeper before going off the left post and into the net.
Carleton had the final two shots of the contest but was unable to break the deadlock.
Carleton goalkeeper
Daniel Linder (Jr./Evanston, Ill./ Evanston Township) tallied five saves, while Lothian had three stops for the Saints.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will host University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire for a non-conference game on Sunday, Oct. 23. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. The Knights will wrap up the regular season by hosting Saint John's on Oct. 29.
