WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's soccer team returns home on Wednesday, hosting St. Thomas at 7 p.m. in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener at Ochrymowycz Field.


The Matchups:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0-0 MIAC | 1-3-0 Overall)
vs. St. Thomas Tommies (0-0-0 MIAC | 2-1-0 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals got two goals from Teri Valenzuela (Morton Grove, Ill.) en route to a 3-1 victory over Marian Sunday afternoon in Fond du Lac, Wis. … St. Thomas, meanwhile, picked up its second win in three games Sunday, beating the University of Chicago 2-0 in Chicago, Ill.

SMU vs. St. Thomas — The Last Meeting:
October 30, 2010: Anna Strehlow and Hannah Gikling scored goals in the game's first 25:00 – and the Cardinals never recovered, in falling to St. Thomas 4-0 in an MIAC game UST's South Field.

Up Next:
The Cardinals hit the road on Saturday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference showdown against St. Olaf. … St. Thomas, meanwhile, returns to St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday, hosting St. Catherine in a 1 p.m. MIAC contest.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
Sunday's 3-1 win over Marian was not only the Cardinals' first win of the season, but also the first victory for Neil Cassidy as SMU's head coach. … Teri Valenzuela (Morton Grove, Ill.) scored her first two collegiate goals against Marian Sunday. … Amanda Rahman (Rochester, Minn.) — SMU's top returning scorer with five goals in 2010 — netted goals against both UW-Oshkosh and Marian last weekend. … SMU's three goals vs. Marian Sunday were the most since the Cardinals netted three in a 3-0 victory over Central-Iowa on Sept. 19, 2010. … Miranda Halling (Rochester, Minn.), who made her first collegiate start in goal for the Cardinals vs. St. Francis on Sept. 5, made nine saves in recording her first collegiate victory against Marian Sunday. … Halling and Cassie Hulett (Milwaukee, Wis.) — who played all but seven minutes in goal for the Cardinals a year ago — have each started two games in 2011 and have combined to compile a 1.50 goals-against-average and an .800 save percentage. … Valenzuela's second goal against Marian Sunday was the first second-half goal the Cardinals have scored this season. On the flip side, four of the six goals SMU has allowed this season have come after halftime.

St. Thomas Tommies News and Notes:
2011 Roster | 2011 Overall Statistics | 2011 Schedule
This will be a homecoming week of sorts for fifth-year UST coach Sheila McGill. The former SMU player faces her old school on Wednesday, then is home Saturday to face St. Catherine, a program where she used to work as an assistant coach. … McGill's 50-22-7 overall record includes a 29-10-4 mark in regular-season conference games. … St. Thomas has played three nationally-ranked teams in a row to start the season. They have a 1-0 home win over No. 15-UW-Stevens Point; a 2-0 road loss to No. 7 Wheaton (Ill.); and a road 2-0 win over No. 20 University of Chicago. … The Tommies are 23-5-3 in road games over the last three seasons. … Katy Scherer has two of UST's three goals and assisted on the other. In 22 career games, Scherer has nine goals and eight assists for 26 points. … St. Thomas has a talented but young roster — 19 of its 24 players are sophomores and freshmen, with only two seniors and three juniors. … In 33 league games over the last three seasons, UST shares the best record with Carleton (each 24-5-4), a fraction ahead of Concordia (23-5-5). … UST has recorded 28 shutouts in 62 games since 2008.