University of St. Thomas Athletics
12-6-1
Macalester
13-1-5
More postseason magic, MSC advances to MIAC title game
11/4/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
ST. PAUL – A week ago, the St. Thomas men's soccer program had never won an MIAC Playoff game. Now the Tommies have won back-to-back MIAC Playoff games thanks to a 2-1 win over top-seeded Macalester in Wednesday night's semifinals to advance to Saturday's Championship game at St. Olaf.
St. Thomas used goals from senior Miles Stockman-Willis and sophomore Shae Bottum to grab the victory, which kept its season alive for at least three more days.
With the win, the Tommies have now beaten the top two teams in the North region rankings (No. 19 Loras and now No. 11 Macalester) this season and improve to 12-6-1 on the year, while the Scots move to 13-1-5 and will await the announcement of the NCAA Tournament field Monday, Nov. 9.
After a scoreless first half that yielded just four shots combined, the Tommies broke the seal with a goal from Miles Stockman-Willis. Mark Heydt started the goal on a corner kick, finding Stockman-Willis on the back post to put the Purple up 1-0 in the 64th minute.
Shae Bottum added to the Tommie lead with just over six and a half minutes remaining in regulation. After Pierce Erickson drew a foul in the box, Bottum put away the penalty kick dead center to give St. Thomas the 2-0 lead late.
But the Scots would not go down quietly, scoring in the 86th minute to pull within one. Jamel Benhamida scored off of a rebound from 15 yards out, setting up what appeared to be a familiar script. When these two teams met earlier this season, the Tommies held a 2-0 lead with just 10 minutes remaining before Macalester came back to score three goals and capture the win.
However, this time the St. Thomas defense was up to the task at hand, holding the Scots scoreless over the final four minutes to secure the victory.
For the game, the Scots held the slight shot advantage (10-9), which also carried over in to shots on goal (6-5). Each team tallied five corner kicks.
In goal, Grant Larson picked up his eighth win of the year after making four saves, while Zeke Vainer suffered the loss in a three-save effort.
After back-to-back postseason wins on the road, the Tommies will again travel to take on St. Olaf in Saturday's MIAC Playoff Championship. That game is scheduled for a 1:00 pm start.
Team Stats
Miles StockmanWillis (8)
Assisted By: Mark Heydt
off corner at far post
63:36
Shae Bottum (4)
Univ. of St. Thomas Shae Bottum PENALTY KICK GOAL, goal number 4 for season.
83:21
Jamel Benhamida (1)
Assisted By: Danny Baumann
off rebound 15 yards out
85:48
