No. 22 Saint John's soccer hosts Carleton for its final regular-season home game at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, at Haws Field. – Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (13-2-2, 5-2-1 MIAC) fell to No. 3 St. Olaf 3-1 on Wednesday (Oct. 21) in Northfield. SJU led for 19:15 in the first half after three freshmen connected on a goal just 3:32 into play, but unbeaten St. Olaf responded with three unanswered goals - two in the second half - to seal the victory. 

Midfielder Aidan Buckneberg (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Southwest) tallied his second goal in as many games after forwards Soren Benson (Brainerd, Minn./Lake Region Christian) and Jacob Oliver (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) connected to put the ball in the box. Oliver made a nifty touch with the side of his foot to set up Buckneberg for the score. 

St. Olaf evened it with a long shot from just above the box that soared into the top right corner at 22:47.  

The Oles' go-ahead goal came off a free kick outside the box after SJU was whistled for a yellow card just 4:01 after halftime. St. Olaf scored its final tally 10 minutes later, capitalizing on a defender down in the box to set up an open man. 

Buckneberg nearly scored his second of the game at 65:68, but his shot to the right corner was saved by the Oles' diving keeper.  

After a yellow card on the Oles in minute 80, freshman midfielder Grady Monette (Andover, Minn.) sent a free kick into the box, but the Johnnie attempting to head the ball was pushed to the ground in the scrum.  

St. Olaf marched down the field and had another attempt at a free kick outside of the box thanks to one of four yellow cards on SJU on the day, but sophomore goalkeeper Alex Keekley (St. Louis Park, Minn./Minnetonka) was able to punch it off the crossbar and out of play.  

Sophomore forward Eli Ryan (Victoria, Minn./Minnetonka) saved the Oles from extending the lead again with five minutes to go, as a St. Olaf shot bounced behind Keekley. Ryan dove into the goal and kicked the ball over his own head and out of trouble. 

Oliver made one final attempt to cut the deficit, but his pass to junior forward Ronan O'Connor (Woodbury, Minn./Hill-Murray) drifted out of play and just past the goal. 

Keekley finished with five saves in goal, while Buckneberg led with three of SJU's four shots on target.

NCAA STATS: The Johnnies currently (through Oct. 22) lead all divisions of NCAA soccer in assists (67), corner kicks per game (9.35), goals (62), goal differential (+55), penalty-kick percentage (1.000/7-for-7) and total points (191). SJU is second in Division III in scoring offense (3.65 gpg.) and third in both shots on goal per game (11.06) and shutout percentage (0.765).

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 fourth nationally in shutouts (8), 11th in GAA (0.483) and 12th in save percentage (0.870).

PLAYOFF BOUND: The Johnnies have clinched their 15th appearance in the MIAC Playoffs, which were established in 2003 and begin Nov. 3, and 12th in the last 14 seasons. 

A LOOK AT THE KNIGHTS: Carleton (10-4-1, 6-2-0 MIAC) extended its unbeaten streak to six games – win streak to five – with a 3-1 victory over Macalester on Wednesday (Oct. 21) in Northfield. Freshman forward Matthew Deffo recorded five total points in the game with an assist on the game's opening goal from junior Ben Roman 4:21 into the game. Deffo then scored two goals of his own in the first half and leads the Knights in both goals (8) and assists (5). His 1.62 points per game lead the MIAC. Roman is tied for second on the team in goals (6) and third in points (13). Freshman Adam Ouachani recorded eight second-half saves against Mac and is 8-2-1 with a 0.84 GAA and an .809 save percentage (38 saves).

LAST SEASON: The two teams played to a 1-1 draw last Oct. 15 (2025) in Northfield. All of the scoring occurred in just 35 seconds of game play, as both teams were awarded consecutive penalty kicks in the second half.  

Carleton controlled game play in the first half, tallying seven shots through the first 45 minutes toward sophomore goalkeeper Cole Hanson (Urbandale, Iowa). Hanson saved both on-target attempts to keep the score deadlocked 0-0 at the half. 

Seven minutes after the break, Carleton midfielder Briggs Priem was shoved to the ground in the corner of the box while trying to battle the ball to the goal line. He beat Hanson for his eighth goal against this season and his second off a PK attempt. 
 
After kickoff, Carleton booted the ball out of bounds to give possession to SJU. The throw-in landed on the foot of junior forward Ronan O'Connor (Woodbury, Minn./Hill-Murray), who battled into the box and was knocked to the ground by a pair of Knights. O'Connor converted his first PK attempt of the season for his 12th goal this year. 

Hanson finished with seven saves in net for his first collegiate tie (2-2-1 record). Five of those saves came in the second half. Carleton had a chance to take a late lead with a cross through the box, but the shot sailed high over the goal. 

The Johnnies were out-shot 16-6 (8-2 on goal) by the Knights but did not give up a corner kick (3-0 in favor of SJU). 
 
SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 25-16-4 against Carleton since 1983, including a 14-5-1 record in Collegeville.