WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's soccer team returns home on Saturday, hosting Saint Benedict in a 1 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at Ochrymowycz Field.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-8-0 MIAC | 0-14-0 Overall)
vs. Saint Benedict Blazers (4-3-1 MIAC | 5-4-4 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals gave up single goals in each half last Saturday, in falling to St. Catherine 2-0 in an MIAC game in St. Paul, Minn. … Saint Benedict, meanwhile, is coming off a 1-1, double-overtime tie against UW-Whitewater in a nonconference game in St. Joseph, Minn.

SMU vs. Saint Benedict — Their Last Meeting:
October 22, 2011: The Cardinals found out first-hand why Saint Benedict is sitting atop the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings, as the league-leading Blazers dealt the Cardinals a 2-0 setback Saturday afternoon.

Up Next:
The Cardinals step out of conference play on Monday, as SMU entertains UW-River Falls in a 6 p.m. contest at Ochrymowycz Field. … Saint Benedict, meanwhile, hits the road for the final time this regular-season, as the Blazers head to St. Paul, Minn., on Wednesday for a 3:30 p.m. MIAC showdown with Hamline.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
Saturday's game against Saint Benedict is the first of three straight home games and the first of four games in a seven-day stretch for the Cardinals. … Miranda Halling (Rochester, Minn.) made her 14th straight start in goal for the Cardinals against St. Catherine last Saturday. The sophomore goalkeeper finished with eight saves, giving her a conference-leading 115 saves through 14 games. … Halling has stopped 10 or more shots five times this season — including a season-high 16-save effort against Concordia on Sept. 29. … Halling enters Saturday's conference game against Saint Benedict owning a 3.00 goals-against-average and a .732 save percentage. … Bethany Schmidt (Sparta, Wis.) scored her second goal of the season against Hamline on Oct. 6. With the second-half tally, Schmidt moved into the team lead with five points, while sharing the top spot in goals (2) with Sloane Kuramoto (Rochester, Minn.). … Katie Holmes (Edina, Minn.) and Rachel Tackmann (Lake City, Minn.) have accounted for SMU's other two goals this season. Holmes recorded SMU's first goal of the season with her second-half tally against Loras on Sept. 2. … The goals by Holmes, Schmidt and Tackmann were all collegiate firsts. …  Schmidt, Holmes, Caroline Blackwood (Norwalk, Ohio), Heidi Martin (Ankeny, Iowa) and Tessa Scanlon (Cologne, Minn.) have all picked up assists this season. … The Cardinals have scored five of their six goals in the second half. Kuramoto's goal vs. Bethel on Sept. 22 is SMU's lone first-half goal this season. … SMU has recorded a season-high seven shots on goal twice — first against Luther on Sept. 19 and second against Gustavus on Sept. 26.

Scouting The Saint Benedict Blazers:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
Last Saturday's 1-1 tie against UW-Whitewater was the Blazers second straight tie — CSB also battled Bethel to a 2-2 deadlock on Oct. 9. … Saint Benedict enters Saturday's game at Saint Mary's riding a four-game unbeaten streak (2-0-2). … Eleven of CSB's 13 games have been decided by one goal or less — including all four of the Blazers' losses. … Saint Benedict's four losses have all been decided by 2-1 scores. … CSB has played seven overtime games this season, going 1-2-4. … Laura Kosch scored her second goal of the season to account for the Blazers' goal in last Saturday's 1-1 tie with UW-Whitewater. … Alyssa Hoffman enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's leading the Blazers in goals (7) and points (16). … Colleen Bouchard is the team-leader in assists (8) and is second to Hoffman with 14 points. … Saint Benedict's 19 goals have come from nine different players. … Megan Favorite has seen the majority of the work in goal for the Blazers, compiling a 1.17 goals-against-average, while stopping 64 of the 76 shots she's faced for an 842 save percentage. … Saint Benedict is 3-2-3 on its home field, while owning a 2-2-1 record away from St. Joseph, Minn.