The Johnnie soccer team visits Macalester for a 1 p.m. game this Saturday, Oct. 11, in St. Paul. – Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (7-3-2, 2-3-0 MIAC) claimed a 2-1 non-conference victory over St. Scholastica on Tuesday (Oct. 7) in Duluth. The Johnnies defeated CSS 4-1 in the MIAC meeting two weeks ago (Sept. 22) in Collegeville. 

SJU scored two first-half goals and held off St. Scholastica for 77 minutes of shutout soccer before allowing a late goal to cut the lead in half. CSS made a number of late attempts but couldn't find the back of the net in the game's final 13. 

After consistent St. Scholastica pressure, freshman forward Lisle Cherwien (Mound, Minn./Orono) settled the Saints with the Johnnies' first goal in the 27th minute. Sophomore forward Ronan O'Connor (Woodbury, Minn./Hill-Murray) took a feed from freshman Olin Franzwa (St. Paul, Minn./Woodbury), went up the left side and sent a long cross to a hard-charging Cherwien at the far post for his fourth goal of the season, and his second against the Saints. 

Freshman midfielder Carter Gellner (Chaska, Minn./Chanhassen) capped the first half with the second tally for SJU, scoring his first collegiate goal 39 seconds before halftime. Sophomore midfielder Matt Holmes (Edina, Minn.) headed a goal kick at midfield that squirted up the turf to Gellner for a pseudo breakaway, which he buried past the CSS keeper for a 2-0 Saint John's lead.  

Ted Barker broke the Johnnies' shutout in half in the 77th minute, scoring off a low throw in that bounced off a defender in the box. The Saints managed four late shots and a corner kick after the goal, but each attempt was met with an SJU block. 

Both teams played two keepers, with freshman goalkeeper Cole Hanson (Urbandale, Iowa) earning his second win of the season with four of SJU's five saves. Freshman Austin Ertel (Brownsburg, Ind./Lawrence Central) allowed the CSS goal and made a save in 27 minutes between the pipes.  

A LOOK AT THE SCOTS: Macalester (7-4, 2-2 MIAC) suffered a 3-1 home loss to then-No. 3 Augsburg last Saturday (Oct. 4) in St. Paul. Junior midfielder Kasdan Blattman gave the Scots a 1-0 lead on a penalty kick in the 29th minute, but the Auggies scored three unanswered goals in the second half for the victory. Blattman leads the team in assists (5), points (7) and shots (21), while junior forward Chris Frantz and freshman midfielder Milan Shah have three goals apiece. Junior goalkeeper Drew Moseman is 5-1 with a 0.36 GAA and a .895 save percentage (17 saves).

A YEAR AGO: SJU opened its conference schedule with a 1-0 loss to Macalester last Sept. 17 (2024) in Collegeville. Cody Da scored the game's lone goal, his fourth of the season, for Macalester on a deflection off a corner kick in the 63rd minute. The Scots recorded a 12-1 advantage in corner kicks on the day.

The Johnnies nearly gained a 1-0 lead when O'Connor looked to have scored his third goal in the last two games 12 minutes in, but the tally was disallowed due to offsides. Senior defender Carter Hermanson (St. Paul, Minn./Holy Angels) hit the post with 18:30 to play in the first half.

The Scots also had a pair of notable opportunities as a team save from SJU denied Da of a goal late in the 27th minute and goalkeeper Evan Siefken '25 made a sprawling save near the post on a free kick from just outside the box 10 minutes into the second half. Siefken made six saves in the loss as the Scots out-shot SJU 15-9 (8-6 on goal).

SERIES HISTORY: SJU leads the series with a narrow 24-23-3 mark since 1981, including an even 11-11-2 record in St. Paul. The Johnnies are just 3-8-1 against the Scots over the last 12 meetings overall.