LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Saint Mary's University men's soccer team kicks off its 2011 season under first-year head coach Pete Watkins with a pair of road games Friday at Lake Forest and Saturday at Rockford.




The Matchups:
Friday, Sept. 2 | Lake Forest, Ill. | 5 p.m.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0-0 Overall)
at Lake Forest Foresters (0-0-0)

Saturday, Sept. 3 | Rockford, Ill. | 1 p.m.
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0-0 Overall)
at Rockford Regents (0-0-0 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Video Preview

Last Action:
This weekend's games are the season opener for all three teams. The Cardinals are coming off a 2-16-0 season in 2010, while Lake Forest went 12-6-0 a year ago and Rockford was 2-13-3

Last Meeting | SMU vs. Lake Forest
Friday's matchup will be the first-ever between the Cardinals and the Foresters

Last Meeting | SMU vs. Rockford | Sept. 1, 2006
The Cardinals erupted for seven second-half goals, as they opened the 2006 season with a 10-1 nonconference win over the Regents in Rockford, Ill.

Up Next:
The Cardinals kick off their home schedule on Tuesday, hosting North Central in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at Ochrymowycz Field. Lake Forest and Rockford both return to action on Sunday, as the Regents host the Foresters in a 2 p.m. contest in Rockford, Ill.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2010 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
Sophomore Gunnar Knutson (Minneapolis, Minn.) earned honorable-mention All-MIAC?honors. … Senior Steve Boussie (Troy, Mich.) closed out his collegiate career having started every game in his four years as a Cardinal — a school-record 72 straight starts. … Nine of the Cardinals' 16 losses were decided by one goal or less, including six 1-0 decisions. …Junior Juamaine Venter (Rochester, Minn.) closed out the season as the team's leader in goals (5) and points (12). Both are career highs. … Senior Ryan Rademacher (La Crosse, Wis.) finished the year with the team assist lead with three, one more than Venter and Boussie. … Senior Ryan Rademacher (La Crosse, Wis.) all shared the team lead in assists with two. The trio accounted for seven of the team's eight assists. … Sophomore Gunnar Knutson (Minneapolis, Minn.) and freshmen Zach Palma (Washburn, Wis.) and Patrick Moore (Woodbury, Minn.) all scored their first collegiate goals this season. … Junior Chris Williams (Chicago, Ill.) and freshman Phill Rendell (Denver, Colo.) shared the goalkeeping duties. Williams appeared in 14 games, finishing with a 2.04 goals-against-average and a .759 save percentage, while Rendell played in six games, compiling a 3.01 GAA. … Rendell notched his first collegiate victory in his collegiate debut, a two-save, 3-0 win over Marian on Sept. 1. … Ten of SMU's 14 goals have come in the second half. … Both of the Cardinals' wins this season came at home — 3-0 over Marian and 1-0 vs. Lakeland. … The Cardinals' 2-1 overtime loss to Viterbo on Sept. 21 snapped SMU's eight-game unbeaten streak (4-0-4) in overtime games.

Lake Forest Foresters News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2010 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
The Foresters enter the 2011 campaign coming off a 12-6 overall performance in 2010, including a 5-4 finish in Midwest Conference play. … Lake Forest earned a pair of first-place votes and was tabbed to finish third in the MWC Preseason Coaches' Poll. … Mahir Mameledzija led the Foresters — and the entire MWC — in scoring a year ago, posting 13 goals, six assists and 32 points. … Lake Forest's 46 goals came from 19 different players in 2010. In fact, just two position players failed to score at least once for the Foresters last season. … Lake Forest has four goalkeepers on its 2011 roster — none of which played for the Foresters a year ago. … Lake Forest outscored its opponents 18-3 in the game's opening 45 minutes. … Ten of the Foresters' 18 games last season were decided by one goal, including a 2-1 overtime loss to North Central and a 1-0 double-overtime win over Augustana. … Seven of Lake Forest's 12 wins came on its home turf, where the Foresters finished 7-3.

Rockford Regents News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2010 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
The Regents are coming off a 2-13-3 season in 2010, including an 0-8-3 showing in Northern Athletics Conference play. … Rockford played five overtime games a year ago, tying three games and suffering back-to-back OT losses to Aurora and Eureka on Oct. 12 and 14. … Rockford scored a season-high eight goals in its 8-0 vs. Finlandia. On the flip side, the Regents scored just seven goals in their other 16 games combined. … Nathan Sweet returns after sharing the team lead with three goals in 2010. … Sam Wangelin and Matt Zawadzki shared the goalkeeping duties a year ago, combining to record a 2.46 goals-against-average, while recording 121 saves. Unfortunately for the Regents, neither are on Rockford's 2011 roster. … Both of Rockford's wins in 2010 came on the road, the Regents were 0-8-3 on their home turf.