ST. PAUL, Minn. – Two first-half goals were enough to send the Macalester College men's soccer team into the finals of the MIAC Playoffs with a 2-1 victory over Gustavus in the semifinals Thursday night at John Leaney Field at Macalester Stadium. The win is the seventh in a row for the second-seeded Scots, who head to the championship game against St. Olaf on Saturday with a 14-4 record on the season.

The finals of the MIAC Playoffs will take place on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1:00 p.m. at St. Olaf's Rolf Mellby Field. It will be the seventh appearance in the championship game for Macalester and the first since 2017. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Just 4:31 after the start of the game, senior midfielder Ondieki Maina (Kensington, Calif./El Cerrito) dribbled down the left side and sent a perfect pass across the middle to junior forward Zach Liptzin (Denver, Colo./Northfield), who slid a shot into the goal from six yards out for an early lead. The Scots continued to attack, taking five shots, including two on goal, over the next eight minutes. But in the 18th minute, fourth-seeded Gustavus (14-5-1) tied the game with a goal against the run of play by Kieran Mahan on the Gusties' first shot of the contest.

Seconds after Gustavus' goal, Macalester nearly took the lead right back when a shot by junior forward Chris Frantz (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) hit the crossbar. In the 38th minute the Scots would regain the lead for good. Maina centered the ball to junior midfielder Kasdan Blattman (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine), who found first year midfielder Milan Shah (Chicago, Ill./Francis W. Parker) open on the left side. Shah dribbled in and beat Gusties' goalkeeper Vikram Couto from 10 yards out for a 2-1 advantage.

Gustavus' best chance to tie the score came in the 81st minute, when Jack Isroff took a free kick that caromed off the left post. Macalester closed out the game from there, with junior goalkeeper Drew Moseman (St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Central) making one final save in the 88th minute.

Moseman finished with three saves, as the Scots took 17 shots compared to seven for the Gusties. Couto ended up with four saves for Gustavus.

Macalester will play top-seeded St. Olaf, ranked fourth nationally, for the MIAC Playoff championship on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 1:00 p.m. in Northfield. The Oles beat sixth-seeded Saint John's earlier today to advance to Saturday's final.

2025 Men's Soccer MIAC Playoffs
Monday, Nov. 3
No. 4 Gustavus 3, No. 5 Bethel 0 - box score
No. 6 Saint John's 2, No. 3 Augsburg 1 - box score

Thursday, Nov. 6
No. 1 St. Olaf 3, No. 6 Saint John's 1 - box score
No. 2 Macalester 2, No. 4 Gustavus 1 - box score

Saturday, Nov. 8
No. 2 Macalester at No. 1 St. Olaf, 1:00 p.m.