Co-champs St. Olaf, Carleton headline MIAC Men's Soccer Playoff field

http://miac-online.org/news/2011/10/29/MSOC_1029113923.aspx

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The final day of the regular season was a memorable one for MIAC men's soccer as two cross-town rivals battled for the conference title and the final playoff spot was finally settled. Once the dust cleared, there was a tie for the title and the four-team field for the 2011 MIAC Men's Soccer Playoffs was set.

St. Olaf beat cross-town rival Carleton Saturday to move into a first-place tie with the Knights, meaning the two will share the 2011 MIAC Men's Soccer regular season championship. By virtue of Saturday's win, the Oles also scored the tiebreaker advantage and will open the Playoffs as the No. 1 seed. The Knights will be seeded second in the postseason field.

Gustavus also had a shot at the title with St. Olaf's win, but a tie put the Gusties alone in third place, also giving them the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Macalester - the team that tied Gustavus Saturday - opened the door for Augsburg to claim the final playoff spot with that same tie. The Auggies capitalized by winning their game Saturday afternoon, and since they beat the Scots during the regular season, they seized the final Playoff spot thanks to the tiebreaker.

The playoffs open Wednesday with both semifinal games taking place in Northfield at 2 p.m. The Auggies, who are the defending Playoff champions, will travel to top-seeded St. Olaf, while the Gusties will travel to Carleton'shome field for the other semifinal. The two winners will meet in the championship game Saturday, with the highest-remaining seed hosting the game and the winner receiving the MIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament.

The MIAC has set up a home page for the 2011 MIAC Men’s Soccer Playoffs, featuring the seeds, schedules, links to info about each team and tiebreaker criteria.

2011 MIAC Men's Soccer Playoff Field
No. 1 seed – St. Olaf College (14-3-1, 7-2-1 MIAC - 22 points)*
No. 2 seed – Carleton College (11-5-2, 7-2-1 MIAC - 22 points)
No. 3 seed – Gustavus Adolphus College (14-1-3, 6-1-3 MIAC - 21 points)
No. 4 seed – Augsburg College (10-4-3, 6-3-1 MIAC 19 points)#

*Wins tiebreaker based on criteria No. 1 - head-to-head results.
#Received No. 4 seed over Macalester based on tiebreaker criteria No. 1 - head-to-head results.

2011 MIAC Men's Soccer Playoff Schedule
Semifinals: Wednesday, Nov. 2
No. 4 Augsburg at No. 1 St. Olaf – 2 p.m. – Northfield, Minn.
No. 3 Gustavus at No. 2 Carleton – 2 p.m. – Northfield, Minn.

Championship: Saturday, Nov. 5

Semifinal winners – Time: TBA – At Highest Remaining Seed

For complete details, visit the 2011 MIAC Men's Soccer Playoffs home page.

Courtesy of MIAC