WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's soccer team, coming off a 5-4 nonconference loss at Crown on Tuesday, returns home Saturday for a 4 p.m. nonconference contest against UW-Superior at Ochrymowycz Field.
The Teams:
Saint Mary's Cardinals: 2-2-0 Overall
UW-Superior Yellowjackets: 2-1-0 Overall
Last Action:
The Cardinals scored three second-half goals, but it was not enough, as Crown raced out to a 5-1 lead and held on to beat SMU
5-4 Tuesday in a nonconference game in St. Bonifacius, Minn. UW-Superior, meanwhile, had its season-opening two-game winning streak snapped with a
1-0 loss to UM-Morris on Monday in Superior, Wis.
Last Meeting:
Today's matchup is the first-ever meeting between the Cardinals and the Yellowjackets.
Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
Juamaine Venter (Rochester, Minn.) recorded the first two-goal game of his career vs. Crown Tuesday. … After scoring just two goals in his first two seasons with the Cardinals combined, Venter has already netted three goals in four games this season. … Venter enters today's game vs. UW-Superior as the team-leader in goals (3) and points (7), while
Steve Boussie (Troy, Mich.), who scored his second goal of the year vs. Crown Tuesday, leads the squad in assists (2) and is second in points (6). …
Tony Olson (South St. Paul, Minn.) scored his first goal of the season, and second of his career, Tuesday vs. Crown. … Six of SMU's eight goals have come in the second half — including three of the Cardinals' four goals vs. Crown Tuesday. … SMU's first three games were all decided by shutout. … Today's game vs. UW-Superior is the fourth home game in five contests for the Cardinals. … With their 3-0 win over Marian Wednesday, the Cardinals have now won their season opener in back-to-back years and are 4-1-1 in their last six season-openers.
UW-Superior Yellowjackets News and Notes:
The Yellowjackets had their season-opening two-game winning streak snapped with Monday's loss to UM-Morris. UW-Superior had opened the year with back-to-back 2-0 victories over Bethel and Concordia-Wis. … Monday's loss also snapped a five-game unbeaten streak, dating back to last season. … UM-Morris' second-half goal Monday was the first allowed by the Yellowjackets in over 600 minutes, dating back to Oct. 20, 2009. … All three of UW-Superior's games have been decided by shutout. … The Yellowjackets' four goals this season have come from four different players — Ben Royce, Richard Chegwin, Thomas Shuldheisz and Aaron Bresser. Royce and Chegwin have also chipped in an assist and share the team lead in points with three. … Tom Fitzer has played all three games in goal, compiling a 0.33 goals-against-average and a .938 save percentage. … Three of UW-Superior's four goals have come in the second half. … Yellowjackets' head coach Joe Mooney is the youngest NCAA Division III men's soccer coach at 27 years old. … The Yellowjackets will square off against eight Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams this season — Bethel, Saint Mary's, Saint John's, St. Olaf, Carleton, St. Thomas, Hamline and Augsburg.
