COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – The Carleton College men's soccer team squared off with the No. 22-ranked Saint John's University Johnnies and come out with a tight 2-1 loss.
Saint John's (14-2-2, 6-2-1 MIAC) started off the scoring in the 19th minute, when Carleton failed to clear off a corner kick. Soren Benson hopped on the loose ball and poked it into the back of the net. In minute 33,
Matthew Deffo ran onto a flicked header in the bx and was tripped up by Johnnie goalkeeper Austin Ertel, drawing a penalty.
Asher Burt stepped up for the spot-kick and laced it into the bottom corner for his second goal of the season.
The Johnnies retook the lead 20 minutes into the second half when Jacob Oliver curled a low cross into the path of Ethan Brown on the counter-attack. Brown brought the ball in and chipped over Carleton's diving goalkeeper and took the score to 2-1.
The Knights battled for the equalizer over the game's final 25 minutes.
Willan Shrock drew a diving save from substitute 'keeper Alex Keekley with 14 minutes left with a low right-footed shot.
Ben Roman got onto the end of a cross from the left wing, but his close-range deflection was smothered by Keekley with 12 minutes to go. The Knights had one final opportunity in the 87th minute, but
Felix Shapiro narrowly missed his left-footed try on the rebound.
Saint John's outshot Carleton 20-10, but beat the Knights more narrowly in shots on goal with a 9-6 margin.
Adam Ouachani made seven saves in goal to keep Carleton in the game.
Despite the loss, Carleton has secured a MIAC playoffs home game, as they can finish no lower than fourth in the conference standings. The Knights can finish third or fourth in the conference , depending on results around the league in the final week of the regular season. That means that Carleton will host a MIAC quarterfinal game to begin its postseason journey.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton wraps up its 2026 regular-season slate with a Senior Day meeting against Gustavus Adolphus. The kickoff at Bell Field is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31.
