DULUTH, Minn. – Sam Hayward (Sr./Stanford, Calif./Gunn) scored early for the Carleton College men’s soccer team, but the Knights had to settle for a 1-1 draw against No. 23 College of St. Scholastica.
The stout Carleton (7-5-3) defense held the high-scoring Saints (13-2-1) in check for much of the afternoon, which is no surprise given the recent history between these squads. The Knights have now yielded only three total goals over their four meetings with St. Scholastica since the start of the 2012 campaign.
That’s especially notable because the Saints paced all NCAA men’s teams—all divisions—in scoring during 2012, 2013, and 2014. St. Scholastica is on pace to do so once again in 2015, entering today’s contest averaging 4.86 goals per game.
Carleton, however, showed it came ready to play as Hayward headed home a service by Trent Elmore (Sr./Bloomington, Ind./Phillips Exeter Academy) in the ninth minute for the early advantage.
Brandon Hilliard (So./Anoka, Minn./Totino Grace) kept the Knights in front when came up with back-to-back leaping saves in the 21st minute. First he ranged to his right to deny Kyle Farrar, tried to get back on his feet before making a sprawling stop of Shawayne Folkes’ close-range attempt.
St. Scholastica trailed at halftime for only the third time this season but leveled the match only 75 seconds into the second period as Jonny Harking finished off a 2-on-1 counterattack.
Neither team was able to break the deadlock during the remainder of regulation or the first overtime period. Hayward nearly ended the match with his header early in the second OT, but Saints goalkeeper Sandy Davidson-Hunt came up with a huge deflection in the 101st minute.
Danny Leal’s (Jr./Rice Lake, Wis./Rice Lake) bid for a game winner went over the crossbar in the 105th minute, and he was stopped again by Davidson-Hunt in the 109th minute. Meanwhile, Hilliard registered four of his career-best 15 saves during the second overtime period, and the game ended in a 1-1 tie.
St. Scholastica finished with a slight edge in shot attempts, 25-20, but Carleton enjoyed a 9-4 edge in corner kicks. The Saints committed a whopping 23 fouls compared to 11 for the Knights.
The Knights are tied for fourth place in the MIAC standings and have three matches remaining in the regular season. Each looms large in the team’s pursuit of a ninth consecutive trip to the postseason. Carleton begins the stretch with the short trek to rival St. Olaf College on Saturday, Oct. 24 for a 1 p.m. match, followed by a Tuesday afternoon visit to University of St. Thomas at 3:30 p.m. The Oles sit in third place in the conference, only two points ahead of Carleton. St. Thomas is currently sixth in the standings, one point behind the Knights.
Carleton will conclude the regular season with a 1:00 p.m. match versus Saint Mary’s University on Oct. 31.
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