<ve claimed consecutive conference crowns with an exhilarating 2-0 win against St. Olaf in their final regular season game. Though the score remained knotted at 0-0 with the half-time whistle, a powerful, 20-yard drive by Joe Lindner ‘09 gave the Knights the lead in the 64th minute. Less than three minutes later, Carleton capitalized on some classy combination heading to extend their lead to two. Senior Jack Boller miraculously saved a ball from drifting out of bounds with a powerful header to Tim Wills ’12, who then expertly tipped it to senior Paul Pedtke, who powered it into the back of the net. The Knights’ defense proved strong for the remainder of the game, with sophomore mitts-man Pete Semmer recording his seventh shutout of the campaign.
After securing home-field advantage for both legs of the playoffs, the Knights thrilled the substantial crowd gathered on Bell Hill with a dominating 2-0 victory over St. Thomas. Following a scrum in the Tommy box and a cross from Ross Hamilton ’10, Lindner patiently and expertly hammered home the first goal of the match in the 9th minute. Carleton did not rest long on their laurels and added an insurance goal on a 55 yard free kick by Courtney Morris ’11 to Brian TenHoor ’09, who cheekily directed the ball into the corner of the net. Though St. Thomas threatened several times throughout the rest of the game, the Knight’s defense proved to be up to the challenge and stymied their offensive efforts. The Knights posted their 14th shutout of the year, with net-minder Semmer recording 4 saves between the pipes. The Knights also jumped up one ranking in the NSCAA polls to 7th on the heels of their conference championship.
This coming Saturday the Knights will take on Augsburg in the MIAC playoff championship at 2 PM, which determines which squad will gain an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Augsburg holds the honor as the only team which has defeated Carleton this year, and the match holds promise to be one for the ages.