The St. Thomas men’s soccer team, behind a strike from Shae Bottum, won its first ever MIAC playoff championship with a 1-0 victory over Macalester at home in the conference title game Saturday morning.

The Tommies, who also won the regular season conference title, earned an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament with the win.

The win continues the most successful season in program history. Not only did the Tommies win their first conference title since 1991, but they will play in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1995. Head coach Jon Lowery said the players have earned their success.

“You knew a day like this would come. We trust our process and I trust these guys. To get there, and see them rewarded for everything they’ve done, I couldn’t be prouder as a coach,” he said.

A strike from forward Bottum was the only shot the Tommies registered on goal in the entire match. As things turned out, it was all they needed.

The rebound of a blocked shot fell to Bottum’s feet just outside the penalty area in the 52nd minute. He pounced on it and knocked it into the bottom of the net to give St. Thomas the lead.

Taking the lead didn’t have a huge effect on the way that the Tommies played, said Lowery.

“We’ve been in this situation a lot at 1-0. We’ve recently managed it better. In some of the past games we’ve been up 1-0, we’ve had to hang on and it’s been a little more in doubt,” he said. “We’ve done this so many times that they’re comfortable in that situation.”

The Tommie defense did enough to keep the shutout and hold Macalester to three shots on target.

Forward Christian Elliehausen said the team’s defense is fundamental to its success.

“They’re phenomenal. They’ve been rock solid all year long,” he said. “That’s how we get things done. If we don’t get scored on, we don’t lose.”

The Tommies will enter the NCAA tournament with a 16-1-3 record and the possibility of hosting an opening round match. As it’s their first appearance in the tournament in over two decades, a lot of work has been put in to get there.

“The past couple years we’ve been building and building. All the guys before us, they were building. It just came to a climax,” Elliehausen said. “But yet, we’re not done. We’re looking forward to making a statement for St. Thomas soccer.”

Lowery is looking forward to keeping the team together for as long as possible.

“Honestly, what I’m looking forward to the most is another week with these guys. We get to train, we get to be together with such a great group of guys,” he said.

St. Thomas will learn its first playoff opponent during the selection process on Monday. That experience has been a long time coming, said Lowery.

“I’ve told the kids over the years that there’s going to be a Monday where we all sit together and watch the tournament selection, and our name’s going to be up there because we earned it,” he said.

Spencer Flaten can be reached at flat6148@stthomas.edu.