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WINONA, Minn. — In a match where there was no shortage of physical play, the Saint Mary's University men's soccer team made one mistake — and that's all it took ¬— as Saint John's handed the Cardinals a 1-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Ochrymowycz Field.

“We held with them fine physically,” said SMU coach Chris Dembiec, whose squad falls to 2-14-0 overall and 0-8-0 in the conference. “But soccer's a game where one mistake can drastically change the outcome.”

That one miscue came early in the first half, as the Johnnies capitalized on a well-placed volley and found the net when Ryan Fuchs out-jumped the Cardinal defenders and headed Austin Neuburger's cross past SMU goalkeeper Chris Williams (Chicago, Ill.)

Despite the loss, Dembiec was able to find several silver linings.

“There was a lot of individual improvement,” said Dembiec. “Adam Lindsay (Fremont, Wis.) had a few good looks, and Kameron McKeeth (Woodstock, Ga.) was a lot more physical this afternoon. The back line also played well.”

The Cardinals resume play on Tuesday, when they travel to Minneapolis, Minn., to take on Augsburg in a 7 p.m. conference game.