After winning in the opening round of the MIAC Men's Soccer Playoffs, the Gusties advanced to Thursday's semifinal and will take on No. 2 seed Macalester, scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. kickoff at Macalester Stadium. 

Gustavus comes into the semifinal matchup with a 14-4-1 record after the 3-0 quarterfinal win over Bethel on Monday at the Gustie Soccer Field. Macalester as the No. 2 seed earned a first-round bye, maintaining their record of 13-4-0. 

TICKET INFORMATION

All tickets will be sold and purchased online via HomeTown Ticketing. There will not be cash sales at any venue; however, spectators can purchase tickets using a mobile device, including while at the venue. General admission tickets are $12 (plus HTT service charge) and students with their ID are $3 (plus HTT service charge). Children five and under receive free admission. 

PAY-PER-VIEW

The 2025 MIAC Men's Soccer Playoffs will be streamed live on the MIAC Sports Network in a pay-per-view format. Individual playoff contests will be streamed for $10 each, or $25 for a "championship pass" to stream the entire tournament live. On-demand access to playoff games will be available after the NCAA Tournament concludes.
 
COMMON OPPONENTS

Gustavus and Macalester have followed similar paths this season, with just one more draw separating the records of the two teams. In MIAC competition, the two results that separated the teams in the table were the head-to-head fixture and each team's match against Carleton. 

When Gustavus battled Carleton, it was a cagey 1-1 affair, with Diego Paulin (Jr., Iporã, Paraná, Brazil) opening the scoring in the 41st minute. At halftime, the score was 1-0 Gustavus, including a 6-2 shots advantage, forcing three saves out of the Carleton goalkeeper. In the second half, Carleton scored just over 10 minutes into the half and the score finished 1-1. When the Scots played Carleton two weeks earlier, three different players scored in a 3-0 rout of Carleton. Macalester dominated, scoring in the 10th minute, the 59th minute, and the 78th minute and held the shots on goal advantage 8-3. 

HEAD TO HEAD

On October 18th, Gustavus and Macalester met at the Gustie Soccer Field both knowing the matchup would become important for playoff seeding. The Scots scored in the 2nd minute when they forced a turnover in the Gusties' defensive third and Chris Frantz slotted it across to Zach Liptzin. For the next 82 minutes, the game seemed fairly even. Macaleester was forced to defend and make four saves and Gustavus held the shots advantage 16-7. Then, in the 84th minute, the scoreline veered further away from the performance level. Macalester scored two more, the first again from Liptzin, slotting one home from 12 yards out into the left side of the goal. Then, with 19 seconds left in the game, the Scots put salt in the wound, scoring on a counterattack to go home with a 3-0 win over Gustavus. 

In November 4th's United Soccer Coaches (USC) Region IX Regional Rankings, Gustavus sits at fifth, behind two MIAC foes, Augsburg and St. Olaf. One spot behind Gustavus is Macalester, sitting at sixth. In the USC National Coaches poll, both Gustavus and Macalester are receiving votes, with Gustavus sitting one spot ahead of Macalester. In the NCAA's NPI rankings, Gustavus is situated above Macalester as well. A win on Monday over Bethel, along with other results across the country, catapulted Gustavus up to 16th in the rankings, better than their spot at 25th on Monday whereas Macalester sits at 22nd in the NPI rankings. 

Gustavus does not lead the conference or country in statistical categories, but instead sits in the top half of all 20 categories, except for five. Macalester shares a similar fate, except leading the conference in two statistical categories, fouls per game and shot accuracy. Individually, Joe Flory leads the nation in game-winning goals, is fourth in the country and first in the conference in shot accuracy, and ranks 26th in the country and fourth in the conference in total points. Getting past Macalester goalkeeper Drew Moseman and his back line will be a tough task, as Moseman leads the conference in save percentage and the defensive group holds the lowest goals against average in the conference, just 0.47. 

GLORY, GLORY, JOE FLORY

Junior Joe Flory has been outstanding this season for the Gusties, scoring 14 goals across 19 matches, good for third in the MIAC. On September 15th, Flory was named MIAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week, when he scored two goals and added an assist in a 4-2  comeback win over Luther. Flory has been a clutch player as well, with seven game-winning goals, tied for the most across all NCAA divisions. 

OLIVER'S OPENING ACT

Head Coach Tyler Oliver, in his first season at the helm, has continued the legacy of success for the Gustavus men's soccer program. From 2019-2022, Oliver was on staff at Gustavus, getting a taste of the program standard. While on the Gustie sideline, Oliver was a part of two MIAC regular season championships, one MIAC playoff title, and two NCAA tournament appearances, highlighted by a national quarterfinal finish in 2022. Oliver and the rest of the coaches were named 2022 North Region Staff of the Year by United Soccer Coaches. This season's success sets up Oliver's first head coaching appearance in the MIAC playoffs, after two seasons at Hamline where his teams failed to qualify.

GUSTIES IN THE MIAC PLAYOFFS

Since the inception of the MIAC Men's Soccer Playoff, Gustavus has been dominant, winning seven MIAC Playoff Championships, the most out of any MIAC school. All time, the Gusties have an 18-11 history over 29 games in 18 appearances before this season. Gustavus has only missed the playoffs three times, in 2008, 2010, and 2015, but hold the advantage in appearances over St. Olaf, who has made the playoff 17 times. The Playoff Championship has evaded the Gusties, making the final the last three years, losing to St. Olaf each time.

SERIES HISTORY

Thursday's matchup pits two of the most storied MIAC soccer teams against each other. Gustavus has made the MIAC Men's Soccer Playoffs 18 times, the most in the MIAC, and Macalester sits third with 15 appearances. The last time one of these teams was not in the MIAC Men's Soccer Playoffs was 2008. All time, the Gusties have a 20-14-4 record, which includes a 7-3 record in the last 10 matchups and a 12-5-2 record on the road.