Game Summary / GameDay Preview

OSHKOSH, Wis. — Saint Mary's University men's soccer coach Chris Dembiec isn't one to hang his hat on moral victories, but after watching his team's performance against unbeaten and nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh, he may just change his tune.

The Cardinals gave the Titans — ranked No. 20 in the latest NSCAA Top 25 and unbeaten (7-0-1) heading into Saturday's nonconference tile — all they could handle, but came up just short, as UW-Oshkosh escaped with a 1-0 victory.

“The guys played their hearts out — probably our best overall performance of the season,” said Dembiec. “Oshkosh is very, very good — they have talented players in all 11 spots — but I thought we gave them all they could handle tonight.

“We spent a lot of time defending, but we did create some good scoring chances as well,” Dembiec added. “We had a couple real good chances late that had (the Titans) holding their breath. I think they probably feel pretty fortunate to come away with the victory.”

UW-Oshkosh's Nick Laubenstein broke a scoreless tie eight minutes into the second half, heading a pass from Tim Stadler past SMU goalkeeper Chris Williams (Chicago, Ill.) for his third goal of the season.

“I'm not a big fan of silver linings or moral victories, but there's now way this team should hang its head after a performance like this,” said Dembiec. “They gave it everything they had and left everything on the field — I couldn't ask any more from them than they gave me tonight.”

The Cardinals (2-7-0 overall) return to conference play on Tuesday, traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a 4 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest against Gustavus.