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WINONA, Minn. — When Carleton won the coin flip and chose to play downwind in the first half Tuesday, the strategy for the Saint Mary's University women's soccer team was simple — hold the Knights at bay in the first half, then take advantage of the wind in the second.

The plan failed — in both halves.

With the wind — which included gusts of 30 mph — Carleton netted a pair of goals four minutes apart, and against the wind, the Knights added two more in handing SMU a 4-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at Ochrymowycz Field.

"When they chose the wind in the first half, we figured we could keep things close for the first 45 minutes, and then use the wind to our advantage in the second," explained SMU coach Chris Dembiec. "The plan didn't work out too well, did it?"

The Cardinals had the upper hand in possession time through the game's opening 45 minutes, but it was the Knights who had the advantage where it counted — on the scoreboard — as Emma Dobbins and Nicky Bloom scored four minutes apart midway through the opening half.

"Possession-wise, I think we had the upper hand, but the last time I checked, you don't 'get any points  (in the standings) for time of possession," said Dembiec. "(Carleton) is a very good team — they know what they do well and they stick with it. They are a very organized team that keeps a lot of numbers behind the ball, and we just didn't adjust to try and counter that — which was very frustrating.

"Once they scored that first goal, we just seemed to deflate emotionally, and things just snowballed on us."

The Knights would added two more goals in the second half, the first by Merritt Swain and the second by Megan Milligan in handing SMU its third conference loss in its last four MIAC outings.

"I thought we'd come out with a bit more energy, especially after playing so well on Saturday (in a 1-0 win over Augsburg)," Dembiec said. "We played a good first 20 minutes or so, but then (Carleton) just took the game over and we never recovered."