NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Eric Zimmerman knew that if his Saint Mary's University women's soccer team was going to be able to compete with St. Olaf Tuesday afternoon, the Cardinals needed to create some good scoring opportunities — and then convert on them.
Unfortunately for Zimmerman, the Cardinals were one 1-for-2, converting the scoring chance, but coming up empty each time, as St. Olaf handed SMU a 3-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback.
“Give (St. Olaf) credit — they are a very good team, right up there in the conference with (league-leaders) Concordia and St. Thomas,” said Zimmerman, whose team fell to 1-5-1 in the MIAC and 7-5-1 overall with the loss. “I thought we played pretty well, especially in the first half, but we just couldn't keep up with them.
“We knew coming in that we were going to have to make the most of our scoring chances, and we weren't able to do that. We created some good opportunities, we just weren't able to finish.”
Lindsay Howard and Deanne Schmidt provided more than enough offensive firepower for the Oles, as each had a goal and an assist, while St. Olaf goalkeeper Samantha Sickbert finished with two saves for the shutout. Howard got the Oles on the board in the game's 11th minute on a feed from Schmidt and the two traded places 20 minutes later, as Schmidt took a feed from Howard and beat SMU goalkeeper Mariana Sanchez (Puebla, Mexico) to give the Oles a 2-0 halftime advantage.
Ellie Steiner closed out the scoring in the second half, netting her third of the season in the 71st minute.
Sanchez stopped six of the nine shots she faced for the Cardinals, who return to action Saturday, playing host to Hamline in a 1 p.m. conference contest at Ochrymowycz Field.
