<ite Jordy Cammarota’s ‘15 first goal of the season and a distinct 26-5 advantage in shots, the Carleton College men’s soccer team couldn’t drum up enough offense as they played to a 1-1 tie against MIAC foes from Saint John’s University at Bell Field on Saturday, October 5th.
“It certainly didn’t feel like 26-5 (in shots attempts),” said Carleton head coach Bob Carlson. “I think Saint John’s had some really good quality chances. That was a MIAC battle. We did some good things, but defensively we left ourselves open a couple of times.”
“Hats off to some of the guys coming off the bench for us today. Joey Pedtke, Michael Hovick, and Jordy did a great job and stepped up.”
In a game dominated by physical play, neither team was able to gain much of an upper hand. Although Carleton did establish the aforementioned control of the shots category, only a handful of those opportunities truly tested Saint John’s goalkeeper Kevin Lebahn.
For the Johnnies, the offensive situation was even bleaker. With more yellow cards (two) than shots on goal (one), Saint John’s never established much of an attacking rhythm. However, their one shot on goal proved to be enough to salvage a point in the crowded MIAC standings.
Johnnies’ forward Zane Heinselman managed to weave around three Carleton defenders en route to rolling a shot past Knights’ keeper James Neher ‘14 in the 17th minute of play.
Cammarota, however, tied things back up for the Knights less than fifteen minutes later. With the ball on his foot near the top of the box, the Carleton midfielder took a couple strong touches toward the middle, centered the ball on his left foot, and fired a shot past the keeper into the left side of the net. The rocket from Cammarota evened the game at one goal apiece.
The score remained 1-1 through the rest of the first half and all of the second, which featured only a handful of real goal-scoring chances. Tied after regulation, things moved into the first of two 10-minute golden-goal overtime periods with both teams looking to create some momentum and find a way to go home with crucial MIAC points.
Midway through the first overtime period, Carleton’s Branden McGarrity ‘16 nearly clinched a victory for the hosts. He tracked down a long ball over the Johnnie back line, and with a hard-charging Lebahn trying to beat the Knight forward to the ball, McGarrity’s one-touch lob shot from just inside the edge of the box drifted just over the crossbar and landed softly on the top of the net.
That opportunity was probably the best from either club during both extra time periods. Carleton did create a couple of corner kick opportunities during the final minutes of the second overtime, but was unable to convert those into a goal, a win, and three points.
After the hard fought tie against St. John’s, the Knights hit the road down to Iowa to take on Luther College earlier this week, where Carleton extended its undefeated streak to six games with a 3-2 non-conference victory. The match between a pair of regionally-ranked squads featured physical play and a little bit of everything.
The Knights got on the scoreboard in the 16th minute when Will Corcoran ‘14 was fouled from behind in the box. McGarrity took Carleton’s first penalty kick of the season and slotted the shot home inside the left post. It was McGarrity’s team-high sixth goal of the season and his 25th career score, tying him with Yemi Adegunju ’05 for third place on Carleton’s all-time list. McGarrity also leapfrogged Adegunju into a tie with Wes Elfman ’11 for sixth place with 56 career points.
Carleton extended the margin to two goals in the 26th minute when Kurt Heise’s ‘16 free kick was headed backward by a Norse defender and into the net for an own goal.
Luther made it a one-goal game early in the second half, scoring off a set piece in the 55th minute.
The Knights got that goal back in the 80th minute when Corcoran collected a deflection and blasted a shot between the near post and the Norse goalkeeper. Luther closed to within a goal once again when Brock Arend outran the Knight backline and slipped a shot inside the near post in the 88th minute, but Carleton was able to hold the hosts without a shot down the stretch and claimed the triumph.