OLES HEAD BACK TO MEN'S SOCCER FINAL FOUR
For the second time in program history - and the second time in the last three seasons - the St. Olaf men's soccer team is headed to the NCAA Final Four.
The Oles defended their home turf over the weekend with sectional wins over No. 15 Williams and No. 8 Wheaton (Mass.) to punch their tickets to the national semifinals. St. Olaf scored twice in the first half and held off a late push from Williams on Saturday for a 2-1 win in the round of 16. Jack Soares then provided the firepower with both goals in a 2-0 victory over No. 8 Wheaton in the national quarterfinals on Sunday. St. Olaf will be off until Friday, December 5, when the Oles will take on No. 1-ranked Tufts in the national semifinal at Kerr Stadium in Salem, Virginia. No. 5 Trinity (Texas) and No. 6 Emory will square off in the other semifinal contest. Final Four game times are yet to be assigned.
Trinity secured its spot in the Final Four by topping Augsburg in the Elite Eight on Sunday. After advancing to the Elite Eight on penalty kicks following a 2-2 draw with Cortland on Saturday, the Auggies fell to Trinity by a 5-0 margin in the national quarterfinals on Sunday. The loss ended the most successful season in Augsburg men's soccer history, during which the Auggies racked up a program-record 18 wins and clinched a berth in the national quarterfinals for the first time ever.
MIAC Men's Soccer Playoff champion Macalester also saw its historic season end over the weekend. The Scots came up one goal short in a shutout loss to Wheaton (Mass.) in the Sweet 16 on Saturday. Macalester's 17 wins on the year are the second-most in program history behind only an 18-victory season in 1998.
| Men's Soccer Bracket |
CARLETON CONCLUDES WOMEN'S SOCCER SEASON IN ELITE EIGHT
The MIAC Women's Soccer Playoff champion Carleton Knights wrapped up their 2025 campaign in the Elite Eight on Sunday afternoon. After advancing past No. 13 Swarthmore on penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw on Saturday, the Knights dropped a 2-1 decision to sectional-host No. 7 UChicago in the national quarterfinals.
A first-half goal against the Garnet on Saturday snapped the Knights' 558:30-minute shutout streak - the program's second-longest streak of its kind since 1992. After a scoreless second half and two shutout overtime periods, Carleton goalkeeper Avery Trapp made two saves in sudden death before scoring the game-clinching penalty kick against Swarthmore.
| Women's Soccer Bracket |
BATI REPEATS AS NATIONAL RUNNER-UP AT NCAA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
For the second consecutive season, Augsburg senior Mohammed Bati was the national runner-up at the NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Championships. Bati finished the 291-runner 8K race at the Roger Milliken Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in a program-record time of 23:39.6. The only men's cross country runner in conference history to win four consecutive MIAC championships, Bati finished his career with 19 wins in 28 total races.
Led by a second straight All-America performance from senior Kevin Turlington, St. Olaf placed 13th as a team in the men's race. It was the Oles' sixth consecutive top-20 finish at the national meet. Turlington took 12th overall, finishing the 8K race in 24:12.3.
In the women's 6K race, Carleton was the top-placing MIAC team, landing 13th overall, while St. Olaf took 29th. Gustavus senior Molly Liston was the first MIAC runner across the finish line, completing the 6K course in 22:02.8 and placing 41st overall.
| Cross Country Championships |
BETHEL, SAINT JOHN'S TO HOST SECOND ROUND PLAYOFF GAMES
Bethel (10-0) and Saint John's (9-1) rested on Saturday after earning byes to the second round of the 40-team NCAA Division III Football Playoffs. The Royals and Johnnies will host noon games on Saturday, November 29.
Playoff-bound for the fifth consecutive season, No. 3 Bethel will welcome Coe College (9-2) to Royal Stadium on Saturday. The Kohawks - an at-large recipient from the American Rivers Conference - cruised to a 44-7 victory over Concordia Wisconsin in the opening round. The playoff win was the first for Coe since 2016. Bethel's first-ever meeting with Coe came in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Playoffs. The Royals held off the Kohawks for a 31-26 victory and finished the season in the national quarterfinals.
No. 6 Saint John's - returning to the NCAA Playoffs for the 30th time in program history - will take on Monmouth (9-1) on Saturday. The Midwest Conference champion Fighting Scots are back in the postseason for the first time since 2019. Monmouth and Saint John's have only met once before, in the opening round of the 2005 NCAA Football Playoffs. SJU won that game in lopsided fashion, with Johnnie defensive end Kevin McNamara setting an NCAA record with 7.5 sacks in the game.
All NCAA Division III playoff football games will be streamed on ESPN+ in 2025. Fans without an ESPN+ account can subscribe here.
| Football Bracket |
MIAC SQUADS CLOSE OUT 2025 SEASONS IN NCAA VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
The 2025 volleyball season came to a close for MIAC teams over the weekend. St. Olaf and Gustavus each won their opening round matches before falling to their regional hosts - UW-Oshkosh and Illinois Wesleyan, respectively - in the round of 32, while Saint Benedict was swept by eventual Sweet 16 participant, WashU, in the opening round.
The Oles took down Northwestern, 3-0, in round-one action before pushing No. 2 Illinois Wesleyan to five sets in the regional semifinal. The Gusties topped Edgewood in four sets before being swept by No. 3 UW-Oshkosh in the regional quarterfinals. This was the first time since 2019 that the MIAC has placed three volleyball teams in the national tournament.
| Volleyball Bracket |
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Fans can use the NCAA's interactive brackets as well as the MIAC scoreboard to track the progress of each championship throughout the postseason.
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