St. Olaf Scores Season-Opening Win Over Northwestern

In nearly a mirror image of the 2014 season opener, St. Olaf topped Northwestern of St. Paul 16-13 with a late fourth-quarter touchdown at Manitou Field in Northfield on Saturday afternoon.

In the season opener last year, the Eagles scored late and held the Oles out of the end zone for a 17-16 win. Here in 2015 St. Olaf scored with 1:52 left in the fourth quarter for a 16-13 lead and secured the victory when Northwestern missed a field goal attempt on the next possession. The winning score was a six-yard touchdown pass from Nate Penz to Jorgen Salveson. The play came shortly after the Oles had attempted a field goal but had it blocked. The ball was then touched by Northwestern past the line of scrimmage and recovered by the Oles to retain possession.

After a scoreless first quarter, Northwestern scored on consecutive drives. The first went 14 plays. The second took 10 plays. St. Olaf then fumbled deep in Eagles territory. Seamus Walsh provided the Oles with a big spark by intercepting a pass and taking it for a 23-yard pick-six touchdown. Owen White added a 35-yard field goal just before halftime to pull the Oles within 13-10. The teams traded punts for most of the second half until the Oles pushed across the winning score.

St. Olaf outgained Northwestern by a narrow margin of 263-258. Penz was 25-for-33 for 168 yards while hitting eight different targets. J.J. Strnad carried 12 times for 65 yards.

Northwestern plays in the UMAC and is based in Roseville. The Oles (1-0, 0-0 in the MIAC) plays at Luther College on Saturday, Sept. 12. Pregame coverage begins at 12:45PM on KDHL AM 920.