Saint John's soccer hosts No. 22 St. Olaf for Homecoming at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, at Haws Field. – Live Stats/Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (5-4-1, 2-2-0 MIAC) handed regionally ranked Augsburg its first loss of the season with a 3-0 shutout last Saturday (Oct. 2) at Haws Field.

Senior midfielder Tommy Picka (Victoria, Minn./Chaska) snapped the Auggies' six-game shutout streak – a span of 564:10 - 9:45 into the contest. The transfer from Augsburg (following the 2017 season) ripped a rocket from just outside the 18-yard box for his first goal of the season and third of his SJU career. Junior defender Cavin Allen (Excelsior, Minn./Chanhassen) and senior forward Guy Mohs (Long Lake, Minn./Orono) were credited with the assists.

An SJU free kick from 30 yards out pin-balled in the box before sophomore midfielder Jack Simonet (Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Jefferson) found freshman midfielder Christian Rodriguez (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) alone near the right post for his first collegiate goal with 4:38 left in the first half.

Junior defender Aidan Becken (Prior Lake, Minn.) ended the game's scoring with a textbook header off a corner kick from Picka in the 59th minute.

Freshman goalkeeper Evan Siefken (Lakeville, Minn./North) made three saves for his third shutout of the season (4-4-1 record).

SJU out-shot the Auggies, 17-14 (9-3 on net). Augsburg entered the game ranked No. 4 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Region IX poll released prior to Sept. 28's game and had allowed a total of three goals through the season's first nine games.

BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN: The win snapped a two-game losing skid for SJU in the series, which the Johnnies lead with a 34-7-4 record since 1978 (including an 18-2-2 record in Collegeville).

REGIONAL RANKINGS: SJU joined the United Soccer Coaches Region IX poll at No. 7 in the latest list released Tuesday (Oct. 5).

1. Gustavus Adolphus (No. 19 nationally)
2. St. Olaf (No. 22 nationally)
3. Wisconsin-Whitewater
4. Augsburg
5. Carleton
6. Luther, Iowa
7. SJU
8. Wisconsin-Platteville

A LOOK AT THE OLES: St. Olaf (9-1-1, 4-0-0 MIAC) ran its win streak to seven games with a 6-1 home victory over Wisconsin-Superior Tuesday (Oct. 5). The Oles scored a pair of first-half goals, though the Yellowjackets cut their deficit in half with a penalty kick 56 seconds into the second half. STO, however, proceeded with four unanswered goals to seal the win. The six-goal performance was St. Olaf's third this season and the fifth game of four goals or more.

Sophomore Hakeem Morgan leads the Oles in assists (6), points (20) and shots (45), and is tied with sophomore Casey McCloskey for the team lead in goals (7). McCloskey is second in points (16) and freshman Shea Bechtel is third with 15 (5g/5a). Sophomore Austin Williams has all 10 decisions in net with a 1.11 GAA and a .714 save percentage (30 saves). The Oles' roster contains student-athletes from seven states and eight countries.

BACK IN 2019: Saint John's endured its second double-overtime loss in a week with a 2-1 defeat the last time these two programs met on Oct. 20, 2019, in Collegeville. A free kick near midfield backfired for SJU as the deflection and STO counterattack turned into a sprint the other way for the Oles. Will Douglas side-stepped a Johnnie defender to his right near the top of the box and kicked a shot to the left post for the game-winning goal 2:20 into the second overtime.

Forward Kagan Foster '20 gave the Johnnies an early 1-0 lead with his team-leading ninth goal of the season five minutes into the game. Defender Nicholas Devasia '21 sent a long ball to midfielder Martin Cortes '20, who flicked it over to Foster for a header to the back of the net.

The Oles tied the game on an own goal – a deflection off an SJU defender into the net – in the 35th minute. Goalkeeper Payton Spencer '20 made five saves in the loss.

STO held a slight edge in shots, 17-14 (7-5 on goal) and totaled a 10-5 advantage in corner kicks.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies lead the series with a 27-14-2 record since 1981, including a 14-8 mark in Collegeville. The Oles, however, have won five of the last eight meetings on SJU's home field.