Saint John's soccer hosts Bethel for its MIAC opener at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, at Haws Field. – Live Stats | Live Video

A DELAYED MIAC OPENER: SJU was scheduled to open the MIAC season against St. Scholastica in Collegeville Wednesday, Sept. 17, but the contest was postponed due to lightning and heavy rain. Wednesday's game has been rescheduled for Monday, Sept. 22, at 2 p.m. at Haws Field. Macalester is the only other team that is yet to open the conference season. The home team emerged victorious in all four of Wednesday's MIAC openers.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (4-0-2 overall) returns to the pitch after Wednesday's storm postponement, but the team's unbeaten streak remained intact with a 2-1 win at Wisconsin-River Falls on Monday (Sept. 15). 

The Johnnies scored a pair of first-half goals and looked to freshman goalkeeper Austin Ertel (Brownsburg, Ind./Lawrence Central) to hold the lead in the second half. Sophomore forward Ronan O'Connor (Woodbury, Minn./Hill-Murray) extended his goal streak to six games, while senior center back Foster Conlin (Mooresville, N.C./Mounds View) scored the first of his career to cap the first 45 minutes. 

O'Connor tallied the first of the game 8:55 into play, tapping a long ball from freshman midfielder James Torguson (Shakopee, Minn.) over the head of a pair of UWRF defenders. Freshman forward Lisle Cherwien (Mound, Minn./Orono) collected the bouncing ball and passed it to O'Connor, who rejoined the play in the box just in time to tap in his 10th goal of the year. 

Cherwien now has at least a point in three of his four career games for four points (1g/2a). O'Connor, meanwhile, has 22 points (10g/2a) in six games.

Conlin scored the eventual game-winner 10 minutes before halftime off a corner kick from classmate Connor Drong (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral). Drong's kick sailed to the far post where Conlin headed it in for his first goal in 47 career games, which he sealed with a front flip. 

River Falls broke Ertel's shutout streak that lasted 263 minutes over three games with 6:16 remaining. Nine of the Falcons' 10 shots came in the second half, with Ertel making a pair of saves late in the game. He is now 4-0-1 overall.

IN STRIKING DISTANCE: O'Connor leads all of NCAA Division III in total goals (10) and goals per game (1.67) this season. His 22 points, 3.67 points per game and three game-winning goals rank second in the country. O'Connor's 10 goals and 22 points (10g/2a) in six games are the most by a Johnnie since Kagan Foster '20 netted 11 goals and totaled 26 points (11g/4a) in 18 contests during the 2019 season.  

MIAC OPENERS: SJU is 28-11-4 in its first conference game of the season since 1981, including a 14-7-2 record when the MIAC opener is in Collegeville. The Johnnies dropped a narrow 1-0 decision to Macalester in the first league game of the 2024 season (Sept. 17 in Collegeville).

A LOOK AT THE ROYALS: Bethel (5-0-2, 1-0 MIAC) also enters Saturday's match with an unblemished record. BU opened their MIAC season with a 4-3 comeback victory over Saint Mary's in Arden Hills on Wednesday (Sept. 17). The win was the Royals' third consecutive and came on the back of a hat trick from senior defender Ryan Swanda. SMU scored once in the first half before the two teams combined for five goals in 15 minutes. Swanda scored the first, third and game-winning goals, the final of which was on a PK.

Senior forward Jordan Ross leads the Royals' scoring attack with 11 points (5G/1A) in seven games. Carter Sherd is next with nine (4G/1A). Sophomore goalkeeper Griffin Blokker has seen the most time in goal, holding a 1.17 GAA and .714 save percentage (20 saves) in six games.

A YEAR AGO: Bethel scored the game's final two goals 1:13 apart to edge Saint John's 3-2 last Oct. 19 (2024) at Haws Field.

Sophomore forward Ronan O'Connor scored both goals for SJU, his team-leading fifth and sixth of the season. The first gave the home team an early 1-0 lead in the 12th minute.

Jordan Ross tied the game for BU at 1-1 with a penalty kick 1:11 into the second half. The PK was the first for or against SJU in 2024.

O'Connor's second tally again gave the Johnnies a lead – 2-1 – six minutes later. A long ball up the field from senior forward Alex Bowman (Elk River, Minn./Rogers) found O'Connor, who turned the left corner and sent a shot to the back of the net.

Jack Hanson tied the game in the 62nd minute (61:47) and Jordan Oberholtzer scored what proved to be the game-winning goal at the 63:00 mark. A free kick near the corner from Roy Kyle served a header for Hanson's goal, while a cross from Oberholtzer went through the legs of goalkeeper Evan Siefken '25 and deflected into the goal. Siefken made eight saves in the loss.

SJU posted a 19-18 edge in shots, though the Royals notched an 11-5 margin on goal. The home team recorded the game's final four corner kicks and the last eight shots, but none were on net. The two teams combined for seven yellow cards (five for SJU). 

SERIES HISTORY: Saturday is the 55th all-time meeting between the Royals and the Johnnies on the pitch and the 28th in Collegeville. SJU holds a 37-12-5 advantage in the series, including an 18-7-2 record at home.