Collegeville, Minn. – The Saint Benedict soccer team is the MIAC Tournament champions after they ousted Macalester 3-2 today (Nov. 9).
 
The Blazers come out of the match with a seven-game winning streak, improving their record to 16-2-1. One of their two losses this season came against Macalester, 1-0, on a rainy day in St. Joseph. Payback couldn't have come at a better time as the Blazers walked away as champions of the MIAC, and with an automatic berth into next week's NCAA Tournament.
 
After the Scots (13-5-1) took the first shot of the game, the Blazers responded with five consecutive en route to outshooting Macalester 14-to-7 in the first half. The Blazers jumped ahead of the Scots with a goal from Val Clintsman off a rebound from the keeper to take the 1-0 lead. Taylor Hedin dribbled the ball into the box from midfield but lost it as the defense swarmed. Clintsman was there to pick up the loose ball and bury it for the early lead.
 
Hedin then pushed her team even farther ahead with a goal of her own with five minutes left in the first half. The goal came with an assist from Colleen Bouchard, giving Bouchard a new CSB record with 35 assists in her career. She also had 15 assists on the season, just one shy of the single season record.
 
Hedin's goal game just after a huge save on a penalty kick by Blazer goalkeeper Heather Kaluzniak. Diving to her right she stopped the leading scorer in the MIAC, the Scots Georgia Cloepfil, to preserve the lead. Kaluzniak would go on to finish with a career high 12 saves.
 
In the second half, the Scots came out shooting and finished the day with 21 shots, after just seven in the first half. The pressure led to a goal to put the score at 2-1 just eight minutes into the half. Just seven minutes later, though, Peggy Renier brought the score up to 3-1 with her third goal of the season, with Grace Vaughan grabbing the assist.
 
Macalester continued to add pressure for the rest of the game, eventually getting back within one after a Blazer own goal with under four minutes left.  They fired off five shots with a corner kick mixed in over a six minute span late in the game, but Kaluzniak and the Blazer back line led by Kristina Burk, Megan Lenz and Ellie Mullen held firm.
 
The Blazer defense was solid until the final whistle before the team rushed the fielf to receive the MIAC championship trophy.
 
With a berth in the NCAA Tournament locked up, they will now wait to see who they will play and where they will go. They'll find out Monday, whey the NCAA announces the field, at 12:30 p.m., live on NCAA.com.