WINONA, Minn. — Saturday evening, the Saint Mary's University men's soccer team waited until the 85th minute to score the game's only goal in a season-opening 1-0 win over Martin Luther.
Tuesday evening, the Cardinals decided to take a little different approach — with similar results — as SMU netted two goals before the first half was even half over in shutting out Crown 2-0 in a nonconference contest at Ochrymowycz Field.
“I thought we played very well tonight,” said SMU coach Chris Dembiec. “We were pretty solid in all phases of the game. We've still got some things we need to tighten up a bit, but overall, I was pleased with our performance.”
Steve Boussie (Troy, Mich.) gave the Cardinals all the offense they would need, netting his first goal of the season at 8:36 of the opening half. Crown gave the Cardinals a gift goal — knocking the ball into their own net — 13 minutes later as SMU took a commanding 2-0 lead into the halftime intermission.
And with all-conference goalkeeper Jon Szafranski (Barrington, Ill.) between the pipes, that two-goal lead was more than enough. Szafranski collected his second straight shutout, stopping all three Storm shots — all three in the second half.
“We've played two pretty solid UMAC (Upper Midwest Athletic Conference) teams to start the season, but things are going to get tougher from here on out,” said Dembiec, whose Cardinals put their 2-0 record on the line on Saturday, traveling to DePere, Wis., to take on St. Norbert. “We've got one more big test on Saturday, and then, hopefully, we'll be ready for Bethel (next Tuesday) to start the conference season.
“Everyone's playing with a lot of confidence right now,” added Dembiec. “The guys we threw to the wolves last year as freshmen are really stepping up, and the upperclassmen are providing some very valuable leadership. Right now everything seems to be clicking for us.”
