Game Summary vs. Bethel / GameDay Online

WINONA, Minn. — It wasn't the way Saint Mary's University women's soccer coach Eric Zimmerman wanted to end his first season as the Cardinals' head coach.

But then, it wasn't like he had seen this before.

The Cardinals put together a performance worth of a victory, but when the final horn sounded, SMU came out on the short end of a 3-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference decision against Bethel Saturday afternoon.

“It's a tough loss,” said Zimmerman, whose team dropped its second straight in falling to 0-11-0 in the MIAC and 5-12-1 overall. “I thought we played well enough to win — but then, that's been the story of our season.

“We possessed the ball more than (Bethel), we had much better scoring chances — we just couldn't get the job done.”

Bethel raced out to a 3-0 advantage, getting goals from Sophie Christianson, Esther Sowles and Kylie Dirks, before the Cardinals' finally got on the board in the game's 87th minute.

Marie Allen (Wausau, Wis.) collected her third goal of the season to account for SMU's lone goal, while Tania Trowbridge (Shakopee, Minn.) collected the lone assist for her first point as a Cardinal.

“We had so many games this year that we played well enough to win — it's a bit frustrating,” said Zimmerman, whose team held a 10-6 advantage in shots on goal, but still dropped its second straight to close out the season. “This season was a learning experience for everyone — hopefully we can regroup and turn things around a bit next year.”