NORTHFIELD, Minn. – When the NCAA announced the bracket for the 2023 Division III Men's Soccer Tournament, the UW-Superior saw where they were placed, and knew they would need to post their strongest performances of the season to advance.
The Yellowjackets drew the St. Olaf regional in Northfield, Minn., a bracket that also included Carleton College and Pacific Lutheran University, making it one of the highest scoring regionals in the field. Their opponent in the opener was the host from St. Olaf, which came into the tournament with a powerful offense, a stout defense, and a No. 11 national ranking.
St. Olaf started the scoring early and kept on going on the way to a 7-1 win over the Yellowjackets at Rolf Mellby Field.
The Oles applied pressure off the opening kickoff, desperately trying to score first, and they opened the scoring when Caspar Olseth redirected a Shea Bechtel pass in tight to make it 1-0 in the 11th minute. It went to 2-0 a few minutes later when Bechtel scored from distance with a shot high into the goal in the 19th minute.
In the 20th minute the Yellowjackets got a break. St. Olaf goalkeeper Peter Forseth made contact with Yellowjacket
Phillip Eriksen (Skjetten, Norway/Lorenskog) in the box and was assessed a yellow card, and as a result, the Yellowjackets were awarded a penalty kick.
Josh Bellamy (High Wycombe, England/FAB Football Academy) took the kick and got the Yellowjackets on the board, putting a strong kick into the lower-left corner for his 10th goal of the year, cutting the St. Olaf lead to 2-1.
But less than a minute later the Oles restored the two-goal edge. Casey McCloskey worked the ball into the top of the 18 and put a shot past Yellowjacket goalkeeper
Alex Paredes (Mequon, Wis./Homestead) in the 21st minute to make it 3-1.
Later in the half St. Olaf increased the lead. Off a corner kick, Olseth elevated above the rest of the players and headed the ball into the Yellowjacket goal to give the Oles a 4-1 lead in the 32nd minute, a lead that would stand into halftime.
In the second half St. Olaf continued to press the Yellowjackets all over the pitch. In the 55th minute they created a rush and fed Jacob Oberholtzer in the right of the box and he placed a shot past Paredes, furthering the St. Olaf lead.
St. Olaf added its final goals with under 10 minutes to play. In the 84th minute of the match Michael Nelson worked into position in the box and put a low shot into the goal. Then, in the 88th minute, Liam Vance converted a set piece with a kick into the upper right corner.
The Yellowjackets entered the match leading the nation in both shots attempted and shots on target, but they found the sledding difficult Saturday. St. Olaf outshot the Yellowjackets 24-8 in the match and had an 13-3 edge in shots on goal.
Alex Paredes (Mequon, Wis./Homestead) made six saves in goal for the Yellowjackets.
It was a match that got chippy at times, with the teams combining for 26 fouls and 13 yellow cards.
The Yellowjackets' 2023 season comes to a close with a record of 17-4-2.
