The Macalester College men’s soccer team captured the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) regular-season title with a 2-1 triumph over second-place Saint John’s Tuesday night at Macalester Stadium. The Scots (BR-66) will be one of only a handful of unbeaten teams entering the postseason.
Macalester, in St. Paul, Minn., finished the regular season unbeaten with a 12-0-5 record overall and a 7-0-2 mark in MIAC play. The Johnnies fall to 11-3-2 overall, 6-2-1 MIAC.
The MIAC Tournament will kick off next week and the Scots will receive a bye into the semifinals, which are slated for Wednesday. The regular-season crown is Macalester’s first since the 2010 squad won the league with an 8-2-0 record.
Just 5:25 into the game, sophomore forward Danny Baumann collected a pass from junior forward Alan Schembri-Wismayer in the penalty area and beat Saint John’s goalkeeper Kevin Lebahn for a 1-0 lead. The Johnnies answered less than five minutes later, as Paul Wageman blasted a free kick past junior goalkeeper Zeke Vainer from to tie the score at 1-1.
The game remained knotted until the 55th minute. Schembri-Wismayer pounced on a turnover, took a few touches and buried a shot into the left side of the goal to put the Scots up for good.
