DULUTH, Minn. – The College of St. Scholastica men's soccer team battled Macalester College through more than 83 scoreless minutes Saturday before two late goals handed the Saints a 2-0 loss at Kenny Harkins Field.
The tightly contested matchup moved St. Scholastica to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. Macalester improved to 2-1-3 overall and 1-0 in the conference.
Both teams generated limited opportunities in the opening half, with Macalester holding a 4-3 edge in shots. Sami Kaestle (Buchrain, Switzerland/) tested Scots goalkeeper Drew Moseman in the ninth minute, while Afonso Silva (Lisbon, Portugal/) stopped a Leandro Navas attempt in the 33rd minute to help send the teams into halftime scoreless.
The Saints increased their pressure early in the second half. Parker Chastey (Duluth, MN/Denfeld HS) put a shot on target in the 53rd minute, and Lanji Atanga (Minneapolis, MN/) followed with another in the 57th, but Moseman turned away both attempts. St. Scholastica then earned a penalty kick at 58:25, giving the Saints an opportunity to take the lead, but Moseman saved Chastey's attempt to preserve the tie.
Silva answered at the other end, making five second-half saves. He denied Kasdan Blattman in the 75th minute before stopping attempts from Milan Shah and Ocean Lipscomb less than 30 seconds apart in the 78th.
St. Scholastica continued to threaten, with Vasco Carneiro (Lisbon, Portugal/) putting a shot on goal in the 67th minute and Kiki Schmitz (Meerbusch, Germany/) forcing another save in the 81st.
Macalester finally broke through at 83:27 when Shah scored off an assist from Blattman. John Albright added an unassisted goal 1:56 later to give the Scots a two-goal cushion.
Silva finished with six saves, matching Moseman's total. Chastey led the Saints with three shots, including two on goal, while Schmitz and Carneiro each recorded two attempts. Macalester finished with a 15-9 advantage in shots and a 13-4 edge in corner kicks.
St. Scholastica returns to Kenny Harkins Field on Tuesday, Sept. 22, to host UW-River Falls in a nonconference matchup. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
