St. Olaf scores late, trips up Yellowjackets

Ryan Linsmayer led the Yellowjackets with three shots Sunday.

Box Score

St. Olaf 1, Superior 0

With the non-conference season beginning to wind down, the UW-Superior men's soccer team headed south to take on the St. Olaf College Oles in a key matchup Sunday afternoon.

The Yellowjackets appeared to be in good position to pick up a victory, battling the Oles step-for-step for more than 80 minutes of play. St. Olaf finally broke through late however when Kevin Skrip scored at the 84:00 minute mark and then held on down the stretch for a 1-0 win over UW-Superior in Northfield, Minn.

UW-Superior (8-5) fell despite racking up 12 shots, including holding a 4-3 edge in shots on goal for the game.

The Yellowjackets started fast in the opening half, taking three early shots while creating scoring opportunities for Gio Rodriguez (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Los Osos) and Brian Grand (North Branch, Minn./North Branch) in the first 15 minutes of play. St. Olaf (9-3-1) starting goal tender Ben Le Cam proved up to the task, stopping both opportunities to keep matters scoreless.

Neither side was able to find much offense for the rest of the half, resulting in a scoreless draw heading into the intermission.

The contest remained tight through most of the second half as both sides traded shots for nearly 85 minutes of action.

A foul on the Yellowjackets at the 84:00 mark finally created an opportunity for St. Olaf with just six minutes remaining in regulation. Skrip made no mistake on the resulting free-kick, putting a shot past Yellowjacket net minder Matt Elder (New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) to give the Oles a 1-0 advantage.

UW-Superior attempted to even matters late, getting a shot attempt from Gonzalo Garcia (Kirkland, Ill./Hiawatha) and a corner-kick opportunity from Rodriguez in the final six minutes of regulation. But St. Olaf held firm, riding Le Cam's four saves to pick up the shutout victory.

For the game, both UW-Superior and St. Olaf both finished with 12 shots.

Ryan Linsmayer (Dresser, Wis./Osceola) led the Yellowjackets with three shots while Elder made two saves in taking the loss.

Jens Undlin paced St. Olaf with three shots for the game.

The Yellowjackets continue their road-swing when they take on Northland College on Tuesday. Opening kick against the Lumberjacks is scheduled for 4 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Matt Elder: GK; 5' 11"; Senior

#17 Brian Grand: F; 5' 11"; Senior

#15 Ryan Linsmayer: M; 6' 2"; Junior

#10 Gio Rodriguez: M; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#4 Gonzalo Garcia: M; 5' 7"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#1 Matt Elder
: 5' 11"; Senior
: GK

#17 Brian Grand
: 5' 11"; Senior
: F

#15 Ryan Linsmayer
: 6' 2"; Junior
: M

#10 Gio Rodriguez
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: M

#4 Gonzalo Garcia
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: M