St. Olaf Hangs on Against Carleton and Holds onto Goat Trophy

In one of the oldest and closest college football rivalries in the country, St. Olaf defeated Carleton Saturday 29-26 at Klein Field at Manitou to retain the goat trophy and extend their winning streak to three games. The contest featured five lead changes and two ties as the Oles held on to the traveling trophy for the fourth straight year. The series extends back to 1918. The goat trophy was introduced in 1931. St. Olaf leads the series against their crosstown rivals at 53-44-1.

St. Olaf senior quarterback Jack Goldstein passed for 324 yards and three touchdowns. Gonzalo Pirela caught one of those scoring strikes and connected on all three point-after attempts to earn the MIAC special teams player of the week award. It was the second straight honor for a St. Olaf player. Khayleb Willis earned designation the previous week after a big game against Augsburg. On Saturday, Willis dashed for a 67-yard touchdown and collected 145 yards on 23 carries.

Jorgen Salveson and Troy Peterson each caught five passes. Ridley Weeks led the Oles with 8.5 tackles. St. Olaf (4-3, 3-2 MIAC) plays at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter Saturday October 28 at 1PM on KDHL AM920.

Emanuel Williams had a breakout performance at running back for the Knights. Listed as a wide receiver, Williams carried the ball 22 times for 169 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Christian Zaytoun threw for 253 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Flechter Metz caught seven passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. Jay Na led the Knights with 5.5 tackles.

Carleton drove the field on their final possession with a chance at the comeback victory, but a throw into the end zone was batted down by Max Karpinski to preserve the win for St. Olaf. The Knights hosts Concordia Saturday at 1PM on Power 96.

On a related note, the St. Olaf volleyball match against St. Mary's Wednesday October 25 will be on KDHL. The Oles are fighting for a spot in the playoffs.