Box Score

Box Score

NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Saint John's returned to form with a 2-1 win at St. Olaf on Saturday, Sept. 29, in Northfield.

The victory snapped a three-match losing streak for SJU (4-4-2, 2-2-0 MIAC) as each of the team's last four matches has now been decided by a 2-1 score.

The Johnnies have now defeated both of the 2011 MIAC regular-season co-champions this fall (Carleton on Sept. 14). The Oles went on to win the 2011 MIAC Playoff Championship and post a 1-1 record in the NCAA Tournament last season. SJU earned a 1-0 win over St. Olaf last Oct. 1 in Collegeville.

Freshman Alex Niederloh's (Maple Grove, Minn.) first collegiate goal gave SJU a 1-0 lead 11:17 into the match. Senior Andrew Johnson (St. Louis Park, Minn.) unleashed a shot on goal, but Harry Ullmann's save went directly to Niederloh for the goal.

Junior Joe Balder (Stillwater, Minn.) made it 2-0 with his second goal of the year on a penalty kick. Freshman Paul Wageman (Roseville, Minn./DeLaSalle) played a cut-back ball against the grain from the top of the 18 that Niederloh made a play on. Just as Ullmann was about to dive on the loose ball, Niederloh took a touch to the side and created a breakaway to the wide-open net. Ullmann, however, tackled Niederloh at the knees, earning a game-ending red card and a penalty kick for SJU.

Nick Lund cut the deficit to 2-1 with 17:19 remaining.

Freshman Kevin Lebahn (New Hope, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) made 10 saves to improve to 2-3-0 on the year. St. Olaf out-shot the Johnnies 20-5 in the contest (11-3 on goal).

SJU is now 23-9-2 against STO since 1981, including an 9-4-2 record in Northfield. The Johnnies are 4-1-1 against the Oles in the last six meetings.

The Johnnies travel to the Pacific Northwest for a pair of matches next week, beginning with a 6 p.m. PST contest on Thursday, Oct. 4, at Linfield (Ore.). SJU travels to face Puget Sound (Wash.) for a noon PST match on Sunday, Oct. 7, before returning to conference play at Bethel Oct. 10.