ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Bethel University men's soccer season came to a close with a 2-0 loss at Macalester as the Royals outshot the defending conference champions on their home field but were unable to find the back of the net. The Royals generated 15 shots to the Scots 11, with both teams putting four shots on goal. Bethel also created five corner kick opportunities to just three for Macalester but the stat the matters most was the one that favored the Scots in their two goals to none for Bethel.

"I am very proud of the way we played tonight," said head coach Jeremy Iwaszkowiec. "I thought we created enough chances to the win the game but just couldn't find the back of the net. The guys battled for 90 minutes and never quit. We conceded two unfortunate goals and that is hard to swallow but we will learn from this and be better."

The Scots first goal came in the 20th minute with their final goal coming late in the contest with less than four and a half minutes remaining to seal the deal. The Royals did a great job of applying constant pressure, especially late in the second half before the second MAC goal was scored, and had several chances but were unable to score.

The loss ended the Royals hopes to make the MIAC playoffs as a win along with some help by favored teams in other MIAC contests could have had the Royals slipping into the sixth and final playoff spot. Instead the Royals season in now complete with a 9-8-1 overall record and a 3-6-1 mark in MIAC play, both solid improvements from previous seasons. The Royals say goodbye to three seniors who made big impacts in leading scorer Danny Jaderholm, Curt Levalley and goalie Sam Asfahl, who filled in for an injured Jakob Bartels for much of the second half of the season. The rest of the Royals roster is eligible to return for the 2017 season.

"Overall it was a successful season," coach Iwaszkowiec said. "There were some ups and downs with individual game results but our trajectory as a program continues to build as we continue to improve. I thought we matured well on the offensive side of the ball. We were very dynamic on the counter attack and much more dangerous on set pieces. We need to continue our improvements defensively as we gave away too many soft goals. Losing only 3 seniors, I expect us to be better and more competitive again next fall."