Game Summary

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A year ago, the Saint Mary's University women's soccer team probably couldn't wait for the season to come to an end — the Cardinals had managed just three wins and were in the midst of a three-game losing streak entering their season finale at home against Hamline.

SMU managed a 0-0 tie vs. the Pipers, but it was little consolation as the Cardinals struggled to a 3-14-1 mark.

What a difference a year makes.

When the Cardinals traveled to St. Paul, Minn., to take on the Pipers Saturday afternoon, SMU head coach Tony Guinn and the rest of the Cardinals didn't want the season to end — and with good reason.

The Cardinals completed their miraculous one-year turnaround with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over the Pipers, giving SMU its seventh win of the season — the most by a Cardinal team since they went 7-9-2 during the 2000 season.

"It's been a great, great season," said SMU coach Tony Guinn, whose team closed out the year with a 7-10-1 overall mark, including a 4-7-0 effort in conference play. "Obviously, going 7-10-1 is a great improvement over last year, but more importantly, I think it shows that we are headed in the right direction.

"Our goal at the start of the season was to make sure we took a step forward this year — I think we took two or three steps."

Two or three giant steps.

In fact, had the Cardinals had any luck at all in their one-goal games this season, they could have easily been .500 or better. Ten of SMU's 18 games were decided by one goal or less, with the Cardinals managing just three wins and a tie in those 10 games.

"There weren't too many games that we didn't have a chance to win this year," said Guinn. "Take away the Macalester game (a 5-0 setback in early September) and we were in every game. We had so many one-goal games that could have went either way. A goal here or there, and we could have easily finished with a winning record.."

SMU didn't need any breaks against the Pipers, as Aubrey Hirsch (Topeka, Kan.) and Kendra Maloney (Green Bay, Wis.) scored 18 minutes apart in the first half, erasing an early 1-0 Hamline lead, and sending the Cardinals into the postseason on a high note.

"We're already looking ahead to next year, to getting into that conference tournament," said Guinn, whose starting lineup against the Pipers did not including a single senior. "We made huge strides this season — and I'm looking for more of the same from this group next season."