NORTHFIELD, MINN. – The Carleton College men's soccer team dropped the Northfield Derby against St. Olaf College, 1-0, on Tuesday afternoon. The loss halted the Knights' nine-game win streak to open the season, the second-longest streak in program history.
 
The Carleton (9-1-0, 3-1-0 MIAC) offense, which entered the day ranked sixth in NCAA Division III for scoring, never got firing on all cylinders against a stout St. Olaf (5-3-0, 3-0-0 MIAC) defense.
 
The Oles ended the day with a 12-9 advantage in shot attempts and held a 4-3 margin in shots on goal. Carleton took 9 of the game's 12 corner kicks.
 
The game started with the two sides deadlocked, with neither team able to find a truly threatening chance. In the 26th minute, St. Olaf winger Casey McCloskey clipped a ball towards the back post and Jordan Oberholtzer volleyed a shot goalward. The ball ricocheted off a Carleton defender and into the back of the net. That goal was the first one condeded by Carleton in 796 minutes and 15 seconds, snapping the second-longest such stretch in program history (see chart below).
 
After mostly calm first 45 minutes, the fiery rivalry match picked up in intensity during the second half with five yellow cards shown to players on the afternoon.
 
In the 50th  minute, Blake Jones whipped in a ball for Briggs Priem that Priem redirected towards goal. St. Olaf goalkeeper Peter Forseth got down and denied the chance, maintaining the Ole lead.
 
In the 58th minute, St. Olaf forward Shea Bechtel was tripped up in the box. Victor Gaulmin stepped up to take the penalty kick, but in a moment reminiscent of Carleton's win over the Oles last year, Knight goalkeeper Daniel Linder saved the shot to keep the Knights in the game.
 
Carleton had a series of promising set-pieces in the following minutes, with Dylan Fox-Arnold forcing a flying save out of Forseth on a free kick in the 63rd minute. The Knights earned four corner kicks in quick succession, but each was defended by St. Olaf.
 
Carleton was unable to find the net in the final minutes, and one last corner kick in the closing seconds resulted in nothing as the whistle blew on the Knights' first loss of the season.
 
Carleton had gone 9-1-1 in its previous 11 matches against the Oles, with the lone loss of that stretch being a regular-season setback in 2021. The Knights prevailed in the rematch that year, beating St. Olaf in the MIAC Playoff Finals.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will trek north to face the College of St. Scholastica at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30.
 
Longest Shutout Streaks in Carleton Men's Soccer History
900:18 (Oct. 11-Nov. 22, 2008)
796:15 (Sept. 1-26, 2023)
792:44 (Sept. 26-Oct. 25 2009)
768:02 (Sept. 29-Oct. 27, 2007)
735:16 (Oct. 10-Nov. 10, 2012)
 
Longest Win Streaks in Carleton Men's Soccer History
12 games (Sept. 19-Oct. 25, 2009)
9 games (Sept. 1-23, 2023)
8 games (Oct. 7-Oct. 30, 2012)
8 games (Oct. 9-Nov. 6, 2021)