On Nov. 4, men’s soccer made the cross-metro trip to Minneapolis to play a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) playoff quarterfinal against Augsburg University. In a match where both teams had impressive stretches, the Auggies scored the match’s only goal in a sudden-death overtime, beating the Scots 1-0 after over 105 minutes of play.
Playing just four days after losing to the Auggies 2-1 on home turf on Nov. 1, the Scots initially came out looking tentative — Augsburg held the measure of the game. However, they worked their way back, settling into the match as it progressed. Augsburg’s relatively narrow field also crimped the Scots’ style to an extent, making it more difficult for them to spread the play.
“Defensively we wanted to put pressure on the ball and shut off their passing options,” Head Coach Gregg Olson wrote in an email to The Mac Weekly. “This tactic worked for us in the first game [on Nov. 1] and it allowed for us to dictate much of the tempo of the game. In attack, we wanted to utilize our wide players in transition to catch them out of position. Their field is so small that it understandably matches their formation. Whereas we want to spread the game side to side and from front to back. We were not able to open the game from side to side on the day. Augsburg did a good job of closing down our width.”
In particular, the Scots were buoyed by the tireless pressing of forward Cody Da ’27 and by the skillful wing back Ondieki Maina ’26, who at-times seemed the best player on the pitch. Nick Kent ’26, Alexis Bromberg ’25 and Luc van der Graaf ’28 were all instrumental in repeatedly cutting out Auggie possessions and turning the pressure back into counter attacks by finding runs from Da and Hans Haenicke ’25. However, despite generating multiple dangerous possessions, they couldn’t convert with a goal.
“We planned to be aggressive and to attack,” Haenicke wrote in an email to The Mac Weekly. “We were all hungry to get revenge and to score early on them. The game had an incredible atmosphere and there were definitely opportunities for both teams to win early on, we just got unlucky.”
The Scots hit their stride and looked to be the better side for stretches towards the end of the second half. They generated a header in front of goal for Haenicke which bounced just wide of the near post. Regulation came to an end goalless though, leading to a stomach-churning pair of golden-goal 10-minute overtime periods, where a single goal would instantly end the game.
That overtime marked a stark shift in play from the end of regulation; the Auggies came out flying, while the Scots looked tense and couldn’t control the game. Macalester was able to fend off multiple opportunities but ultimately never found their footing in the extra period.
A little over six minutes into the second half of overtime, Augsburg’s Joseph Swallen fired a low shot from just outside the box that flashed through a crowd in front of goal, towards the low left of the net. Sam Price ’25 made another save, diving to his right and deflecting the ball away. It’s the kind of save that had gotten the Scots out of jail many times throughout Price’s tenure as this program’s last line of defense. Just as with these Scots’ losing effort against Carleton College earlier in the season though, Price’s heroics could only go so far. The rebound from the save bounced through a crowd and fell to Mizael Harris, whose first-time shot found the upper netting to end the game and the Scots’s season.
Haenicke, for whom Harris’ goal marked the end of a college career, described his emotions at the match’s close: “As the ball went in, I was expressionless. Augsburg fans ran past me swearing at me, pointing and laughing. I heard them all cheering in the background but I had an incredible feeling of gratitude. I was so thankful and felt so blessed that I was playing for Macalester that night. No one can prepare you for the moment your college career ends, but Macalester and Macalester Soccer has been the greatest experience of my life. I am nothing but grateful.”
Augsburg’s fans jubilantly piled out onto the field and mobbed the victors of the day, while the more subdued Scots gathered in a huddle on their half of the field.
“The seniors took on the moment,” Olson wrote. “Everyone was shattered and the seniors (especially Alexis Bromberg, Hans Haenicke and Sam Price) spoke up about how much the team/program has meant to them over the years and how amazing it was to be a part of the team this year. It was an amazing moment as a coach, because words are not easy to come by after a heartbreaking loss, especially when it ends your season.”
“At the end of the game we all regrouped and talked about how much we loved each other,” Haenicke wrote. “It wasn’t ever about playing soccer, or winning or losing. It was about building amazing friendships and being a part of a program that valued excellent character.”
Although this year features the first use of the National Power Index (NPI) rankings to allocate at-large NCAA tournament bids, — keeping the Scots with a slim mathematical chance to appear in the national tournament — the loss pushed them out of likely at-large bid spots. It won’t be known until the tournament’s 64 teams are announced on Nov. 11, but the Scots’ current 48th place most likely will not be enough.
Whatever happens that day, — whether or not these Scots’ story has an unlikely epilogue or whether Mizael Harris’ shot really did end their 2024 campaign — this season will still carry a complex mix of lessons and memories. The year saw some of the best play on the field that this program has offered in recent years. They also left a lot on the table — the loss to Gustavus Adolphus College and the two losses to Augsburg in particular.
When asked for his own thoughts looking back on the season, a pensive Olson noted the increased depth of the Scots’ conference foes: “[Takeaways] take time to formulate. Just like many things, you take time when the end is upon you. The takeaways will be a part of that process. The one thing that comes to mind is just how strong the top MIAC men’s soccer teams are on a national level. I firmly believe that any of the top six teams could go head to head against anyone and come away with a result.”
For Haenicke, the end of the season and his time in the program was a mix of reflection and gratitude, for his teammates and coaches, both present and past: “This season was some of the most fun I have ever had. We have excellent players but even better people. Everyone has a great heart, especially the coaching staff. We didn’t win it all, but we had something really rare and special. [Assistant Coaches] Oscar Campbell and Colton Wenig [’19] are amazing coaches and people, and I look up to them as great leaders and MIAC soccer legends. They had stellar attitudes and the banter was always top-notch. Coach Olson and [former Associate Head Coach Josh] Roy mean so much to me, because they never stopped believing in me, this program and this college. They knew me from day one and they inspired me to become a better player, but more importantly, a better person. I am forever thankful for them and they have changed my life.”
