NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Macalester College men's soccer team fought back after an early deficit, only to fall to St. Olaf, 2-1 in its first MIAC game of the season Saturday afternoon at Rolf Melby Field. The Scots drop to 5-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference with the loss, while the Oles improve to 7-1-1, 2-0 MIAC.

Less than 10 minutes into the match, St. Olaf's Charlie Piller scored to give the hosts an early 1-0 lead. Macalester put four shots on goal over the remainder of the first half compared to one for St. Olaf, but the Oles maintained the upper hand through 45 minutes.

A little over eight minutes after halftime, senior midfielder Ondieki Maina (Kensington, Calif./El Cerrito) received a pass on the right side from first year midfielder Gaven Johnson (Harrison, Ohio/William Henry Harrison), dribbled in and scored from 10 yards out on the right to tie the score at 1-1. Less than nine minutes later, Robi Buzakovic put the Oles back on top with a goal in the 63rd minute. Macalester's best scoring chance came in the 89th minute, when Maina fired a shot from close range that was saved by Jack Hobday, and junior midfielder Kasdan Blattman (San Jose, Calif./Bellarmine) jumped on the rebound but shot the ball high.

St. Olaf held a slight 15-13 edge on shots taken, although the Scots put eight shots on frame compared to six for the Oles. First year Justin Ratner (Dallas, Texas/Highland Park) registered four saves in goal for Macalester, with Hobday making seven saves.

The Scots play 17th-ranked UW-Eau Claire on Wednesday, Sept. 24 in a non-conference match. The game begins at 7:30 p.m. at John Leaney Field at Macalester Stadium.