Men's Soccer 10/26/04 -- St. Olaf 1, Augsburg 0

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (10/26/04) -- Abu Farah (So., Rochester, Minn./Century HS) scored on a rebound shot in the 40th minute, providing the only scoring St. Olaf College would need, as it clinched a spot in the four-team Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's soccer postseason playoffs with a 1-0 triumph over Augsburg College on Tuesday night at Augsburg's Edor Nelson Field.

Gabe Herrick (So., Golden Valley, Minn.) fed Erik Halaas (So., Whitewater, Wis.), whose shot from the top right corner of the penalty box hit the crossbar. The ball rebounded to Farah, who popped a grounder shot to the left of Augsburg goalkeeper Lucas Grant (Sr., Starbuck, Minn./Minnewaska Area HS) for the eventual game-winning goal.

St. Olaf clinched a spot in the postseason playoffs by improving to 10-6-1 overall, 7-1-1 in MIAC play. The Oles have one conference game remaining, at crosstown rival Carleton on Saturday (10/30) at 2:30 p.m. The MIAC postseason playoffs begin next Tuesday (11/2).

Augsburg finishes its season at 7-9-2 overall, 1-7-2 in MIAC play. Augsburg went winless in its final seven games (0-6-1) to close the season, though with seven wins, Augsburg matched the 1995 (7-9-0) and 1997 (7-10-1) teams for the school's most men's soccer wins since 1980 (11-1-3).

The game was an evenly matched affair, played in windy and cold conditions. St. Olaf outshot Augsburg by a 22-15 margin, including a 13-7 edge in the second half. St. Olaf had five corner kicks to Augsburg's three.

Kyle Trimble (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis./Whitefish Bay HS) made 10 saves to claim his eighth shutout of the season in goal for the Oles.

Grant, one of three Augsburg seniors playing in their final collegiate games, finished with 11 saves in goal. Senior forward Mike Elcano (Sr., Sparks, Nev./Bishop Manogue HS) had four shots, while senior midfielder Clarke Athman (Sr., St. Joseph, Minn.) had two saves.

Elcano finished his career with school records (since 1980) for single-season goals (14) and career goals (35) and points (86) in 64 career games. He finished second in school history with 16 career assists. Athman finished his career with four goals and four assists for 16 points in 60 career games.

Grant, making his 41st game appearance on Tuesday as an Auggie over three seasons (2001, 2003-04), finished with a 12-19-3 career record, seven career shutouts and a career goals-against-average of 2.09.