No. 22 Saint John's visits No. 3 St. Olaf for a 3:30 p.m. showdown on Wednesday, Oct. 21, in Northfield. – Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (13-1-2, 5-1-1 MIAC) extended its unbeaten streak to eight games (6-0-2 record) with a 1-0 road win at Concordia on Saturday (Oct.17) in Moorhead. SJU dominated the pace of play, but didn't break through on the scoresheet until freshman defender Aiden Buckneberg (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Southwest) in the 59th minute (58:46).

Concordia had just one shot in the first half – and two total – compared to SJU's 17 and 13 on goal.

Buckneberg slammed home a corner kick from junior Thomas Theising (Minneapolis, Minn./Wayzata), whose ball bounced around in the box before being hit to the back post of the Cobber goal. 

Buckneberg also led SJU with five shots and three on goal, followed by freshman forward Jacob Oliver's (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) four shots (two on goal). SJU also held the advantage in corners, 12-1.

Sophomore goalkeeper Austin Ertel (Brownsburg, Ind./Lawrence Central) made one save for his second shutout (fourth total) in his second start of the season

NCAA STAT KINGS: The Johnnies currently (through Oct. 19) lead all divisions of NCAA soccer in assists (65), corner kicks per game (9.75), goals (61), goal differential (+57), penalty-kick percentage (1.000/7-for-7), scoring offense (3.81 gpg.) and total points (187).

Individually, sophomore midfielder Eli Ryan (Victoria, Minn./Minnetonka) is tied for the Division III lead in assists (11), while sophomore goalkeeper Alex Keekley (St. Louis Park, Minn./Minnetonka) is second nationally in GAA (0.263) and third in both shutouts (8) and save percentage (0.921).

NEW RANKINGS: SJU fell one spot to No. 22 in today's (Oct. 20) United Soccer Coaches' (USC) top 25 poll. The Johnnies are No. 32 in the Oct. 18 NCAA Division III National Power Index (NPI) and remained at No. 2 in yesterday's (Oct. 19) USC's Region IX poll.

United Soccer Coaches Region IX Rankings
1. St. Olaf (No. 3 nationally)
2. SJU (No. 22 nationally)
3. Luther, Iowa
4. Gustavus Adolphus
5. Wartburg, Iowa
6. Wisconsin-Platteville
7. Wisconsin-Eau Claire
8. Wisconsin-Whitewater

SJU is currently No. 17 nationally in the Massey ratings.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Freshman defender Billy Cornett (Minneapolis, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) earned his second MIAC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week award of the season yesterday (Monday, Oct. 19) after he helped the Johnnies to their third- and fourth-consecutive shutouts last week. SJU held its opponents to just eight total shots and four on goal in the two matches. Cornett leads the team with three game-winning goals and is second in both goals (6) and points (15) this fall.

A LOOK AT THE OLES: St. Olaf (13-0-2, 6-0-0 MIAC) took advantage of two own goals in a 3-1 win Saturday (Oct. 17) at Macalester. The visitors scored three times in a span of 4:03, as junior defender Calvin Hess broke the scoreless tie with his second goal of the season early in the 54th minute (53:09). The Oles were gifted a pair of own goals 30 seconds apart in the 57th (56:42) and 58th (57:12) minutes before the Scots found the scoreboard with less than 10 minutes remaining. The win extended STO's MIAC regular-season unbeaten streak to 38 games (32-0-6). Junior forward Jack Soares leads the Oles in goals (10), game-winning goals (3) and points (22), while senior midfielder Ryan Bechtel (3g/8a) and sophomore midfielder Tustin Todd (3g/7a) have 14 and 13 points, respectively. Junior goalkeeper Beckett Carlson has all 15 decisions in net with a 0.63 GAA and a .820 save percentage (41 saves).

LAST SEASON: The Johnnies went 0-2 against the Oles last fall.

St. Olaf 1, at Saint John's 0 (Oct. 4, 2025)
Then-No. 16 St. Olaf scored a goal late in the 85th minute to top SJU last Oct. 4 (2025) at Haws Field. Tustin Todd turned the corner up the left sideline and sent a cross into the box that Jack Soares chipped to the far post and in for the game-winner and his sixth goal of the season with 5:04 remaining.

SJU nearly gained a 1-0 lead with a wide open net in the 76th minute, but sophomore forward Lisle Cherwien's (Mound, Minn./Orono) shot went over the net.

Sophomore goalkeeper Cole Hanson (Urbandale, Iowa) made a career-high 10 saves in the loss (1-1-0 record).

The Oles posted an 18-15 (11-4 on goal) advantage in shots and a slight edge in corner kicks, 7-5.

at St. Olaf 3, Saint John's 1 (MIAC Semifinals; Nov. 1, 2025)
Top-seeded and then-No. 4 St. Olaf scored three second-half goals to top SJU 3-1 in the MIAC semifinals back on Nov. 6 in Northfield.

Following a scoreless first half, Riker Doolittle gave STO a 1-0 lead when his header in the box off an arcing service from Todd found the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season in the 62nd minute.

Ryan Wilson scored what proved to be the game-winning goal, his fourth tally of the season, in the 78th minute and Ryan Bechtel notched his 10th in the 83rd minute.

Ryan erased the shutout for SJU with his second goal in as many games, and third of the season, with 1:41 remaining. A corner kick from defender Noah Hermanson '26 found the head of Ryan, just past the out-stretched hands of Ole goalkeeper Jack Hobday. Hobday made a sprawling save of Drew Ripp's shot, which was destined to tie the game at 1-1, in the 69th minute.

Hanson made five saves in the loss, which snapped his seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1 record since the 2-1 loss on Oct. 11 at Macalester). 

The Oles posted a 16-9 edge in shots (8-6 on goal), though SJU had a commanding 10-4 margin in corner kicks.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 34-22-5 against the Oles since 1974, including a 15-11-2 advantage in Northfield. St. Olaf, however, has won each of the last eight meetings overall (10 of the last 12).