NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Senior midfielder Ondieki Maina (Kensington, Calif./El Cerrito) scored twice to lead the Macalester College men's soccer team to a convincing 4-1 victory over fourth-ranked St. Olaf in the championship game of the MIAC Playoffs Saturday afternoon at Rolf Mellby Field. The title is the Scots' 13th MIAC regular season or playoff championship in the history of the program and earns Macalester its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance.

"I'm so proud of the performance the team put together today against an amazing Saint Olaf team," head coach Gregg Olson said. "This was a battle between two DIII soccer titans. Everyone, even our student-athletes that didn't see the field today, have been fantastic over the past month. Then when your star players Ondieki, Kasdan and [senior defender] Nick [Kent (St. Louis Park, Minn./St. Louis Park), have such amazing games it means that the sky is the limit."

After a scoreless first half, Macalester scored first with a highlight-reel goal. Junior midfielder Kasdan Blattman (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine) sent a ball from midfield into the penalty area to the left of the goal, where junior defender Charles Wriedt (St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Central) headed the ball across the face of the goal. Maina lunged at the ball and volleyed it into the right side of the goal from eight yards out. Then in the 64th minute, junior forward Chris Frantz (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove) lofted a pass to Maina, who brought it down and took a shot. St. Olaf goalkeeper jack Hobday made the first save but Maina put home the rebound for his second goal of the game.

The Scots weren't done yet despite having a two-goal advantage. In the 73rd minute, Blattman worked a give-and-go with sophomore midfielder Jonathan Kim (San Diego, Calif./Torrey Pines) on the right side and blasted a quality strike into the left side of the net from the top of the penalty area for a 3-0 lead. Just over five minutes later, the Oles found the net for the first time on a goal by Jack Soares to make the score 3-1 Macalester.

With St. Olaf pressing forward to try to get back in the game, goalkeeper Beckett Carlson, who entered the game in the 68th minute, came up for a free kick deep in Scots' territory. The strategy backfired, as the free kick was cleared to first year midfielder Gaven Johnson (Harrison, Ohio/William Henry Harrison), who found Frantz racing ahead of Carlson down the middle of the field. Frantz won the race and put the ball in the goal for the final tally of the game.

Macalester held a 16-12 advantage in shots taken and put 12 on goal compared to just four for the Oles. First year goalkeeper Justin Ratner (Dallas, Texas/Highland Park) made three saves for the Scots, with Hobday registering five saves and Carlson making one save for the Oles.

Macalester, whose NCAA Power Index ranking was 11th coming into the game, will find out who they will play, as well as when and where, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with the NCAA Division III Selection Show on Monday, Nov. 10 at 10:30 a.m.  

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 4, No. 1 St. Olaf 1 - box score