ST. PAUL, Minn. — After scoring the game-winning goal in the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team's 2-1 overtime win over Concordia two weeks ago, Melissa Mondo (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) took a back seat to teammate Laura Mueller (St. Paul, Minn.) last weekend in the Cardinals' sweep of Finlandia.

Mueller scored three goals, while Mondo chipped in two goals and an assist in SMU's 1-0, 4-2 nonconference sweep of the Lions.

Friday evening against St. Catherine, Mondo was back in the spotlight — and alone on center stage — as the SMU junior netted three goals in leading the Cardinals to a 5-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win.

"We played well," understated SMU coach Terry Mannor, whose team pushed its winning streak to a season-high five straight. "This was one of those game where everyone played well. Melissa did a great job of finishing, but her three goals were not individual efforts.

"This game was a total team effort."

Despite being outshot 14-2 in the opening period, St. Catherine got on the board first, only to have Mondo net the first of her three goals to send the game into the locker room tied at 1-1 after the first period.

The second period was all SMU, as the Cardinals scored three times — the first two by Mondo and the third by Laura Langen (New Lisbon, Wis.) — to give Saint Mary's a commanding 4-1 advantage heading into the game's final 20 minutes.

"We started our a little slow, but I think (St. Catherine's) first goal was a real wake-up call for us," said Mannor, whose team held a 14-2 advantage in shots on goal in the first period, but found itself deadlocked at 1-1. "Once (Mondo) got that first goal, we really seemed to get our offense on track.

"This was a big win, because it was a total team effort — everyone worked hard and everyone did their part."