ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- The College of Saint Benedict soccer team (8-5-2, 5-3-1 MIAC), which has recorded four straight wins, will host St. Olaf (6-4-4, 4-2-3 MIAC) in MIAC play at 3:30 p.m., on Saturday, Oct. 21 at the CSB Athletics Turf Field.
 
In the four-game win streak, CSB has victories over Concordia College (2-0), Bethel (3-1), UW-Stout (2-1) and St. Scholastica (4-1). In the MIAC standings, Saint Benedict is tied for third at 5-3-1 and 16 points (Macalester, 8-6-1, 5-3-1 MIAC) while St. Olaf is 4-2-3 and 15 points for fifth place with two conference games to be played. After the regular season concludes, the six teams with the highest conference point totals advance to the MIAC Playoffs, which will begin on Oct. 30 and run through Nov. 4. After the matchup with St. Olaf, the Bennies will conclude regular season play by hosting conference leader, Carleton (14-1-1, 8-0-1 MIAC) on Oct. 28.
 
Bennies beat St. Scholastica for fourth straight win
In a 4-1 road win over St. Scholastica, the Bennies scored two goals in the opening half and finished the game with a season-high four goals in cruising to a 4-1 MIAC win. Over the last four games, CSB has a 11-to-3 goals edge and a 96-to-34 shots advantage. During that same time span, Willenbring has scored five goals with her first career two-goal game in the win over the Saints. In the win over St. Scholastica, Willenbring also totaled a team-season-best five points in a game with her two goals and an assist. She and Voss now both had 12 points to lead CSB this year. Sophomores Grace Fitzgibbons and Regan Melz also tallied goals in the win. Fitzgibbons scored her second goal of the year and Melz registered the first goal of her career on a second half penalty kick.
 
Facing Region IX
The College of Saint Benedict has played four teams ranked in region IX by the United Soccer Coaches. The Bennies fell to UW- Eau Claire (6th in region), 3-2, and No. 11 UW-Lacrosse (1st in the region), 1-0. CSB lost to St. Catherine's (5th in region), 2-0, while also playing to a 0-0 draw against Simpson (No. 4). The Bennies will play Carleton College (No. 3 in region) to finish the regular season on October 28 at the CSB Turf Athletics Field.
 
St. Olaf Notes
Led by head coach, Becky Maines, and assisted by Molly Fiedler and John Moening, St. Olaf is fifth in the MIAC with a 6-4-4 overall record and 4-2-3 conference record. First-year forward Emily Johnson leads the Oles with seven goals, a total which ranks sixth in the MIAC. She also has 16 points for sixth in the MIAC. In addition, Cat Duffy-Shaw has four assists, two goals, and eight points.
 
CSB leads series with St. Olaf
A year ago, St. Olaf defeated CSB, 1-0, on October 8, 2022. Overall, the Bennies own a 23-15-3 record against St. Olaf with a 12-11-1 home record and a 23-13-3 MIAC mark. In the first matchup on Oct. 24, 1984, the Oles took a 5-1 decision. CSB last win against the Oles was a 2-0 decision on Oct. 9, 2021.
 
Notes on CSB
Junior forward Alli Voss and senior forward/defender Abby Willenbring, who were both All-MIAC and All-Region a year ago, lead CSB in scoring. Both Voss and Willenbring have scored five goals (tied for 10th in MIAC) and made two assists for 12 points. Voss, who had goals in three straight matches this year, has 20 career goals. Willenbring, who has two game-winning shots, has scored goals in four straight games. She has scored all five of her goals over the past four games, all wins by CSB. She has 10 career-goals.

Junior Annie Waters has four shutouts and a 7-3-1 record with 33 saves in 11 games. On Oct. 16, Waters earned her first MIAC Defensive Player of the Week honor after allowing just one goal in two MIAC wins. Waters, who was the first MIAC Athlete of the Week honoree for CSB since Paige Kahlmeyer on Sept. 12, 2022, ranks fifth in in the MIAC in goals against average (nine goals in 11 games) with a .860 mark. With a shutout over Concordia-Moorhead, she registered her fourth shutout, a total that ranks sixth in the MIAC. She also has a .786 save percentage with 33 saves in 11 games. Waters owns an 18-7-3 career win-loss mark. In her career, she has allowed just 22 goals (0.84 goals against average) with 111 career saves.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Madisen Carter has one shutout and 14 saves in five games played this season. She has a 0.778 save percentage and 1.02 goals against average.
 
In a look at the team numbers, CSB has a 23-to-14 goals advantage which breaks down to 1.53-to-0.93 per game. CSB has a commanding 253-to-136 (16.9-to-9.1) shots edge. In shots on goals, CSB has a 136-to-66 margin. In addition, the Bennies have an advantage of 71-to-44 n corner kicks and CSB has converted both of its penalty kicks this year (Caralyn Conners, Regan Melz).
 
Kimble directs CSB Soccer
Head Soccer Coach Steve Kimble, who is in his 15th season, has directed his teams to the top four in the MIAC five times, including a second place finish in 2022 when CSB was 12-5-2 with an 8-2-1 record in league play. Overall, Kimble has a 148-81-29 record at Saint Benedict with a 94-45-14 mark in conference play. CSB has recorded winning seasons in 12 of his 14 years with the program and has finished the year with a winning record 32 of the past 34 years. Kimble has coached three All-Americans, two MIAC Players of the Year, one MIAC Rookie of the Year, 20 All-Region athletes, 34 All-MIAC athletes and 19 All-MIAC Honorable Mention selections.