PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — Saint Mary's University women's soccer coach Eric Zimmerman admitted after Saturday's loss to Saint Benedict — in which the Blazers scored the game's only goal with less than two minutes remaining in double overtime — that he couldn't take any more heartbreaking losses like that.
After Sunday's nonconference game against UW-Platteville, however, Zimmerman might want to reconsider.
The Pioneers scored a pair of first-half goals — on their first two shots on goal — and never looked back in handing the Cardinals a 2-0 setback in their final nonconference game of the season.
The loss was just the third loss in their last 38 conference games (34-3-1) for the Cardinals, who are now 34-6-2 in non-league games dating back to the start of the 2004 season.
"It's been a tough weekend — there are a lot of tired bodies loading the bus right now," said Zimmerman, whose team traveled to and from St. Joseph, Minn. Saturday, then was back on the bus headed for Platteville, Wis., early Sunday morning. "I think (Saturday's) loss had a little affect on the way we played today — that was such a tough, emotional game, you almost expect a bit of a letdown."
The Pioneers' Sarah Miller proved to be a one-woman wrecking crew, scoring her third and fourth goals of the season six minutes apart midway through the second half to account for all the scoring.
The Cardinals got off 17 shots — compared to just 10 by UW-Platteville — unfortunately, just two found the goal, and Pioneers' goalkeeper Kaitlyn Wiedeman stopped both first-half shots. Mariana Sanchez (Puebla, Mexico), meanwhile, finished with three saves in goal for the Cardinals.
"Despite the loss, I was pretty happy with the way we played," admitted Zimmerman. "We left (Miller) complete unmarked twice in the box and she made us pay for it. Those are the kinds of mistakes you have to eliminate if you are going to be successful."
SMU returns to conference play on Wednesday, taking on Augsburg in a 6 p.m. contest — the first of two season-ending MIAC home games for the Cardinals, who close out their season Saturday against St. Thomas.
