DULUTH, Minn. – Despite a resilient second-half effort and a late goal from sophomore forward Ted Barker (Huntingdon, England/), The College of St. Scholastica men's soccer team came up just short Tuesday afternoon, falling 2–1 to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival Saint John's University in a non-conference contest on Harkins Field.
Saint John's opened the scoring in the 27th minute when Lisle Cherwien slotted a low shot past Saints junior goalkeeper Dylan Gies (Stavanger, Norway/) off a setup from Ronan O'Connor. The Johnnies would double their lead just before the halftime whistle in the 45th minute, as Carter Gellner finished high into the net off a feed from Matt Holmes to put the visitors up 2–0.
The Saints went into the break facing a deficit, but they didn't fold.
Freshman goalkeeper Afonso Silva (Lisbon, Portugal/) stepped into goal for the second half and made several key stops, including back-to-back saves on shots from Axel Martin and O'Connor to keep the margin at two. St. Scholastica began pressing higher and found more rhythm in the midfield, with substitutes making an immediate impact.
In the 77th minute, the pressure paid off. Senior defender Aiden Olson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) played a clever ball through to Barker, who calmly finished low to the left corner to cut the lead in half and breathe life into the Saints' comeback hopes.
St. Scholastica continued to push forward, earning multiple free kicks and a corner in the closing minutes. Barker, junior midfielder Harry Cook (Fareham, England/Henry Cort Community College), and freshman midfielder Louis Maerker (Essen, Germany/) each had looks at goal, but the Johnnies' defense stood firm, and keeper Austin Ertel made a key late save to preserve the win for Saint John's.
Despite the loss, the Saints showcased depth, grit, and urgency in the second half — outshooting SJU 9–6 after the break and nearly clawing back into it.
The Saints move to 1-8-4 overall and remain 1-3-1 in MIAC play. They're back in action for Homecoming Weekend on Saturday, Oct. 11, to face Concordia (Minn.) College in a league contest at 1:00 p.m. on Harkins Field.
