Game Summary

WINONA, Minn. — The streak is over.

Check that, the streaks are over.

The Saint Mary's University men's soccer team put an end to not one, but two streaks Saturday afternoon, as the Cardinals collected a pair of first-half goals in cruising to a 2-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Concordia at Ochrymowycz Field.

Not only did SMU pick up its first win since a 2-0 triumph over Ripon on Sept. 10 — a span of four games — but they also halted a string of four straight one-goal losses.

And coach Chris Dembiec couldn't be happier.

"This is a huge relief," said Dembiec. "This team has been through so much heartache the last couple of weeks — to play as well as they have, and to come up on the short end of four straight one-goal losses is tough.

"We tinkered with a few different things today, and for the most part, they worked out," continued Dembiec, whose Cardinals were dominating from start to finish, holding Concordia to just six shots on goal — and holding the Cobbers scoreless for their fourth straight game. "We played a high-pressure game and it really made it hard for (Concordia) to string together very many passes, and I think that was the difference."

The Cardinals got on the board 20 minutes into the first half as Mike Schmitt (Woodridge, Ill.) netted his team-leading ninth goal of the season — one shy of the career-high 10 goals he netted a year ago. Andy Neu (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.), who assisted on Schmitt's goal, added his second of the season eight minutes later as SMU raced to a 2-0 halftime lead and never looked back.

"We needed a game like this — a game in which our offense continued to put (goals) on the board like it has been, and our defense to shut down the other team," said Dembiec, whose team has scored at least two goals in seven of its 10 games — but only has four wins to show for it. "We put it all together at the same time — and got a favorable outcome to boot.

"Hopefully we can keep things going in a positive direction."