<ll season settles down, the Carleton Men’s Soccer team finds itself in a familiar position: on top of the MIAC, as it has managed to be for the last three years.
With only four games remaining in what has been a very challenging 2010 campaign, the Knights have once again fought for a shot at the conference title. This weekend, the squad will take a breather in Wisconsin with a pair of non-conference games after a stretch of battles against volatile MIAC opponents.
Saturday’s home game against Augsburg College proved only that in the MIAC, each team is as strong as the next. With a Division I transfer adding some flair to an already skilled roster, Augsburg came out determined to keep their own postseason hopes alive.
Pete Semmer ’11 and Courtney Morris ’11 anchored a stout defense and kept the ball in Auggie territory for most of the game, but Augsburg capitalized on their rare offensive possessions. A Beckham-esque free kick strike from just outside the 18-yard box put Augsburg ahead, and Carleton’s constant pressure failed to generate an equalizer until Ryan Cammarota ’12 took matters into his own feet.
Cammarota cut through the Auggie defense with a spectacular chipped through ball to Will Corcoran ’14, who dodged the goalie to tap the ball to the back of the net. A few minutes later, however, a loose ball just outside the 18-yard box found its way to the foot of Augsburg’s D-I transfer forward, who put the Auggies ahead for good with a well-struck blast.
A skilled and squirrelly opponent, Augsburg has figured out how to eke out a win at Bell Field. The Auggies have been responsible for two of Carleton’s three home losses against MIAC foes in the past four years. Over the same stretch, Carleton has amassed a regular season record of 15-3-1 against MIAC opponents, outscoring them by a margin of 53-11.
The complicated MIAC playoff scenario hinges on the last game of the season against rival St. Olaf, to be played next Saturday at Bell Field. Other teams in the running include Macalester, with three MIAC games remaining, and Concordia, who have rebounded from an embarrassing 5-0 rout courtesy of the Knights at Bell to more than salvage their season. Unless Macalester somehow makes a staggering run up the standings over the next week, October 30th will likely find the Knights playing for a fourth consecutive banner. Until then, look for Carleton to continue to tune up for what could be the title game as they take on non-conference foe UW-Superior at home on Tuesday. The game starts at Bell at 3:30 pm.
