NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- The Carleton College men’s soccer team (15-4) posted a 3-0 victory over visiting University of St. Thomas (10-7-2) in the semifinals of the MIAC Playoffs. Senior Ross Hamilton (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) converted a penalty kick opportunity in the 25th minute. Tim Wills (So./Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) then assisted on second-half insurance goals by Wes Elfman (Jr./Madison, Wis./Edgewood) and Ryan Cammarota (So./Neenah, Wis.). The Knights will host Macalester College this Saturday at 1 p.m. with the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line.
Defenders Lyndon DeSalvo (Sr./Boxford, Mass./Brooks School), Robert Carlton (Sr./Madison, Wis./Memorial), Hamilton, and Courtney Morris (Jr./Lafaette, N.J./Taft School) turned in possibly their best performance of the year, limiting the Tommies’ dynamic forwards, Mike Hutton and Elliott Amundson, without a single shot attempt on the afternoon. The pair entered play ranked fourth and fifth respectively among conference players in goals scored.
While Carleton keeper Pete Semmer (Jr./Del Mar, Calif./Bishop’s School) had a busy day contesting balls served into the box, he needed to make only two saves in notching his 10th shutout of the campaign.
“Pete is so athletic and so smart. He commands his box, and that’s not an easy thing to do. I though he did that exceptionally well today,” said Carleton head coach Bob Carlson. “Pete did a great job coming up big for us, and the back line did a great job, too.”
At the other end of the pitch, Carlos Castellan made five saves for St. Thomas, which was out-shot 14-6 before a pair of late-game desperation attempts.
Carleton was able to control the pace of play throughout the majority of the first half. After a St. Thomas defender was whistled for a handball in the box, Hamilton calmly deposited his penalty kick in the left side of the net, moving Carleton in front.
Early in the second half, St. Thomas created several dangerous opportunities over a crucial 10-minute span with a flurry of set pieces. Despite the seemingly relentless attack, the Carleton defense held firm and soon used the counterattack to put the finishing touches on the Tommies.
“I thought if they were throwing that many men forward, we were going to get some opportunities,” said Carlson, “and that’s exactly what happened.”
In the 64th minute, Wills threaded a through ball to a streaking Elfman who split a pair of defenders, creating a breakaway opportunity. Reminiscent to his goal late in the Knights double-overtime victory over the Tommies in mid-October, Elfman touched the ball to the outside to get around the keeper and slotted home a shot for his team-best eighth goal of the year.
Four minutes later, the Carleton lead became insurmountable as Wills and Cammarota used a handful of quick interchange passes to set up another goal. Off a give-and-go, Wills found a wide-open Cammarota on the left side of the box, and the sophomore midfielder slammed the ball into the bottom right corner.
“That’s the Cammarota-Wills magic. Getting the third goal is always a little more comforting for the coach,” Carlson joked.
Knights Online will carry live stats and a webcast of Saturday’s MIAC Playoffs final.
