WINONA, Minn. — In a span of 24 hours, the Saint Mary's University men's soccer team went from a squad that was mired in a three-game losing streak, to a team that was enjoying a two-game unbeaten string.
Fresh off a 2-0 nonconference victory over Marian on Tuesday, the Cardinals followed that up with a hard-fought, 1-1 nonconference tie against Viterbo Wednesday evening at Ochrymowycz Field.
“It was a battle from start to finish,” said SMU coach Chris Dembiec, whose team moved to 3-3-1 overall with the tie. “I thought we came out and played an extremely solid first half — we controlled the play for the most part.
“From there, we seemed to tire a bit — partly because of the tough match the previous night, and partly because of the physical play of tonight's game,” Dembiec added. “By the end, we were just hanging on.”
And relying on the play of senior goalkeeper Jon Szafranski (Barrington, Ill.)
Szafranski, who needed to make just four saves in recording his third shutout of the season Tuesday evening, was a human highlight reel against the V-Hawks, stopping a career-high 18 shots — including four spectacular diving saves in the two 10-minute overtime periods.
“Jon was the reason we came away with a tie,” said Dembiec of his senior keeper. “He made some huge saves and critical times.”
Ryan Rademacher (La Crosse, Wis.) got the Cardinals on the board early, scoring his first of the season in the game's seventh minute, as the junior feathered a free kick past the outstretched arms of Viterbo goalkeeper Josh Lines and into the right-hand corner of the net.
Viterbo got the equalizer in the 35th minute, as Tony Madigan headed a crossing pass from Jamie Robertson past a diving Szafranski.
That, however, would be the last time Szafranski would let a shot past him. Szafranski stopped eight shots in the second half, and then added a pair of saves in both the first and second overtimes to seal the tie.
“We're in the midst of a very busy week, and it's nice to be heading into Friday's game (against Upper Iowa) with a win and a tie,” said Dembiec, whose team hosts the Peacocks Friday at 4 p.m. at Ochrymowycz Field. “I thought we played very well tonight — it was a great, hard-fought game by both teams. It was almost fitting that it ended in a tie.”
