<d a busy week, with another pair of games last weekend and a rematch of last year’s MIAC championship with Macalester on Wednesday. Though Carleton shut out its weekend opponents, the Scots slipped by the Knights, 1-0, handing Carleton its first MIAC defeat of the season.
The Knights began their weekend by reinforcing their MIAC dominance and compounding a rough day for Hamline University’s sports teams. Hamline was clearly thunderstruck by the recent Carleton offensive storm as Ryan Cammarota ’12 scored in the sixth minute and within the next two minutes Wes Elfman ’11 struck a lightning-quick blast to the far post to put the game out of contention early. Tim Wills ’12 kept pace with two goals of his own, scoring his second thanks to a beautiful header assist from rookie Neil Bartholomay ’14.
After a responsible celebration of their impressive 4-0 victory over Hamline, the Knights faced off against the Luther Norse on Sunday. True to their name, the Norsemen, coming off a win over then nationally sixth-ranked Macalester, employed a crushingly physical style of play. Undaunted by the Viking heritage of their opponents, Carleton played a fast-paced game, carried again by the stellar play of Elfman and Wills. Although the Norse goalie came up huge with several spectacular saves, he was unable to hold on to the ball, allowing both Elfman and Wills to score on rebounds.
On Wednesday, the Knights traveled to Macalester to take on the No. 21-ranked Scots. After being demoted from their No. 6 spot, the Scots were fired up and came out strong. Both teams had early chances, and Macalester was able to capitalize with a goal. A loose ball in the box dropped directly to the foot of a Scot midfielder who quickly found himself with only goalie Pete Semmer ’11 to beat. Semmer sprawled to make a phenomenal save, but the rebound bounced away to be tapped into the back of the net for a 1-0 Scots lead.
The early goal sparked the Knights’ offense back to life. Miles Silbert ’12 outran the entire Scots defense for a try on goal, but his shot trickled a few inches wide. A few minutes later, Cammarota forced a solid stop from the Scots goalie with a blistering shot from outside the 18-yard box. Several late-game chances proved equally unsuccessful, and, after the hard-fought 90-minutes were up, the Knights were handed their first MIAC loss of the season.
The loss against Macalester snapped a four game winning streak. Still, over the last five games, the Knight defense has stood strong, with goalie Semmer allowing only two goals. The offense, led by Elfman and Wills, each with six goals this season, has been equally potent, scoring 11 goals in the same stretch. The Knights will seek to return to their dominance on the road against MIAC foe Saint John’s tomorrow and face Northwestern College on Tuesday, before beginning a three-game homestand next Saturday.
