The St. Thomas men’s soccer team rolled over St. Olaf 6-1 Saturday, moving to (2-1, 3-3-3 overall) on the season.
This is the first game of the year the Tommies have won or lost by more than one goal, and after playing in overtime for six of the last seven games, a decisive win was reassuring.
“I could see it coming,” head coach Jon Lowery said. “Our training was really starting to go.”
The first goal by forward Jake Amey came within the first five minutes off an assist from forward Jacob Makela.
Makela scored in the 25th minute off a combination of passes from midfielder George Marty and defender Jack Barry.
“Across the board, we had a ton of guys committed to details,” Barry said. “I think that showed.”
Forward Sean Kurtenbach scored the final goal of the first half after the ball rocketed around St. Olaf’s box; defender Isaac Eckroth assisted.
The Tommies came out with the same confidence in the second half after Barry scored in the first minute.
After confusion in the goalie box at 22:38, an own goal put the Tommies up 5-0.
The Oles recorded their first and only goal with less than 20 minutes left.
St. Thomas scored its sixth and final goal off an untouched free kick by forward Raphael Stavrides.
The Tommies hope to ride the scoring wave for the remainder of the season.
“The month of October is what defines college soccer teams,” Lowery said.
Lowery gave credit to the preparation of his team and their respect for St. Olaf’s program.
Moving forward, Amey noted that the team will succeed if the players “trust the team and trust the culture and process.”
The Tommies will take on St. John’s Tuesday, Oct. 5 at home.
Lowery said that for any sport at St. Thomas, “Tommie Johnnie means something.”
The Johnnies beat Macalester today to move to (3-0, 6-2 overall) and remain at the top of the MIAC standings.
Mia Laube can be reached at mia.laube@stthomas.edu.