Saint John's meets No. 22 Colorado College for a 5:30 p.m. game this Saturday, Sept. 26, at Division I Creighton's Morrison Stadium in Omaha, Neb.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: A red card in the 13th minute failed to slow Saint John's (8-1, 1-1 MIAC) in an 11-1 win over North Central (Minn.) on Tuesday (Sept. 22) at Haws Field. A red card was issued on a collision in the SJU box 12:36 into the game and North Central's David Ajayi converted the penalty kick for a 2-1 SJU lead. The Johnnies played the remaining 77:24 a man down and managed to score nine unanswered goals. The home team registered a 27-10 advantage in shots (14-3 on goal) and a 12-2 margin in corner kicks after the red card.

Junior forward Ronan O'Connor (Woodbury, Minn./Hill-Murray) scored the third hat trick of his career and tripled his goals for the season before the 19th minute. He opened the scoring after dribbling through three Ram defenders from midfield before launching his shot into the bottom left corner. 

His second goal came off a sophomore James Torguson (Shakopee, Minn.) corner kick four minutes after the red card and he completed the hat trick just over a minute later with another header off a pass from freshman forward Ethan Brown (Lakeville, Minn./Rosemount) at the goal line. 

O'Connor also scored a hat trick and tallied seven total points in last year's 7-0 win at North Central.

Sophomore forward Eli Ryan (Victoria, Minn./Minnetonka) scored the eventual game-winning goal off a penalty kick to break up O'Connor's natural hat trick.

Brown added one of his own off another shot through the North Central defense. 

SJU scored three more times before the half, one from freshman forward Jacob Oliver (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral), a second penalty kick from sophomore midfielder Gabe Franzman (Bettendorf, Iowa) and another directly off a corner kick by freshman defender Gavin Spellman (Denver, Colo./East). 

Oliver scored again and nearly completed another hat trick off a rebound from classmate Grady Monette (Andover, Minn.). Fellow freshmen Charles Foslien (Ramsey, Minn./Anoka) and Adam Bane (Woodbury, Minn.) put two more on the board before the horn.

All four SJU keepers saw time in goal, with sophomore Austin Ertel (Brownsburg, Ind./Lawrence Central) making a pair of saves and sophomore Alex Keekley (St. Louis Park, Minn./Minnetonka) adding another. Sophomore Cole Hanson (Urbandale, Iowa) and freshman Lucas Noll (Omaha, Neb./Westside) each played 12 minutes without a shot faced. 

A total of 36 Johnnies saw playing time.

11 GOALS: Tuesday's 11 goals scored were the most for SJU since a 13-0 win over Cornell (Iowa) on Sept. 10, 1994, in Collegeville.

NCAA STATS: The Johnnies currently (through Sept. 25) lead NCAA Division III in assists (44), corner kicks per game (10.67), goals (45), goal differential (+42), penalty-kick percentage (1.000/7-for-7), scoring offense (5.00 gpg.), shots on goal per game (12.11) and total points (134).

Individually, Keekley is third in Division III in shutouts (5), Ryan is third in assists (7) and Cornett is fourth in game-winning goals (3). 

REGIONALLY RANKED: SJU slipped one spot to No. 3 in Tuesday's (Sept. 22) United Soccer Coaches Region IX poll.

United Soccer Coaches Region IX Rankings
1. St. Olaf (No. 1 nationally)
2. Wisconsin-Eau Claire (No. 17 nationally)
3. SJU
4. Wisconsin-Platteville
5. Macalester
6. Luther (Iowa)
7. Augsburg 
8. Gustavus Adolphus

A LOOK AT THE TIGERS: Colorado College (4-1-1 overall) visits Nebraska Wesleyan Friday night (Sept 25) before Saturday's showdown against SJU. The Tigers were picked to win the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) after returning five All-SCAC first-team selections from last season. Junior midfielder Teddy Opler was named the conference's Offensive Player of the Year last season after scoring 14 goals with six assists. So far this fall, Opler leads the Tigers in both goals (4) and assists (4). Senior midfielder Jack Hilliard was also named to the All-SCAC first team last fall after finishing the season with five goals and six assists. Hilliard gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead in last Sunday's (Sept 20) game against Wisconsin-Eau Claire, which ended in a 2-2 draw, off an assist from Opler. Hilliard is currently tied for third on the team in both goals (2) and assists (2). Senior goalkeeper Spencer Besselaar is 3-1-1 with a 1.20 GAA and a .727 save percentage (16 saves).

THE LAST TIME: SJU is 6-8-1 all-time against Colorado College, including a 2-1 defeat in the series' last meeting on Oct. 6, 2006, in Colorado Springs, Colo. The Tigers opened the scoring early in the seventh minute after stealing the ball at the top of the box. The Johnnies evened the score with just under two minutes left before halftime when a misplayed ball by CC allowed Juan Hernandez to tip the ball into the net for the unassisted goal. The Tigers scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick in the 79th minute.