Game Summary

WINONA, Minn. — Wednesday's game against UW-Stout marked the fourth straight nonconference game against opponents from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for the Saint Mary's University women's soccer team.

And, fortunately for the Cardinals, it's also the last.

UW-Stout scored three second-half goals less than six minutes apart en route to a 3-1 victory over the Cardinals.

"That conference is tough," said SMU coach Dan Blank, whose team was outscored 14-2 in its four games against WIAC schools. "I'd say their top four or five teams are just as good as our top four or five (in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference).

"I knew coming in that (UW-Stout) was going to be a tough team for us to play," Blank continued. "They're very athletic and they move the ball well."

But for nearly 70 minutes, the Cardinals were every bit as good as the Blue Devils, as the two teams battled to a 0-0 deadlock heading into the game's final 20 minutes.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Blue Devils were better — much better — down the stretch.

Carrie Schrank broke the scoreless tie at the 69:42 mark, beating SMU goalkeeper Nicole Bohn (Winona, Minn.) with a shot from point-blank range. Sarah Geiger converted a penalty kick less than three minutes later, and Kelly Stolarczyk made it 3-0 two minutes after that.

"Anytime a game is close like that, it's the little things that are going to make the difference," said Blank. "And that's what happened today. We made some mistakes in coverages, and (UW-Stout) capitalized. It's those little things that are the difference between winning and losing.

"It's frustrating (to lose), because I thought we played one of our better games of the year," continued Blank, whose team snapped its two-game scoreless string when Sara Goodnature (Rochester, Minn.) converted on a penalty kick with nine minutes remaining. "This is a young team and we need to keep improving, and today, I thought we showed some of that improvement."