WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's soccer kicks off its 2012 season on Friday, as the Cardinals host Edgewood in a 5 p.m. nonconference game at Ochrymowycz Field.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2011 Final: 2-13-2 Overall)
vs. Edgewood Eagles (2011 Final: 8-7-3 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Video Preview | GameDay Program

Last Action:
Friday's game is the season-opener for both teams.

SMU vs. Edgewood — Their Last Meeting:
September 5, 2004: SMU got first-half goals from Brent Anderson and Mike Schmitt just seven minutes apart late in the half to give SMU a 2-1 advantage at the break. The Eagles, however, would score the equalizer with less than three minutes remaining in regulation as the two teams battled to a 2-2 tie in Madison, Wis.

Up Next:
The Cardinals hit the road on Sunday, traveling to Dubuque, Iowa, for a 7 p.m. nonconference showdown with Loras. … Edgewood, meanwhile, kicks off its home schedule on Sunday, hosting St. Norbert in a 2:30 p.m. nonconference game in Madison, Wis.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals
2012 Roster | 2011 Final Statistics | 2012 Schedule
Thirteen of the Cardinals' 17 games in 2011 were decided by one goal or less — including five contests that went into overtime. … Four of SMU's five overtime games went to the second OT — a 2-1 loss at Lake Forest and a 1-0 loss vs. Macalester, and a pair of 0-0, double-overtime stalemates against Viterbo and North Central. … Juamaine Venter and Jacob Bina (West Salem, Wis.) finished the year as the team's goal-scoring leaders with three each, while Bina also boasted a team-best seven points. … Kameron McKeeth (Woodstock, Ga.) recorded assists on a team-leading four of SMU's 10 goals. The four assists were a single-season career high and gave McKeeth six assists in his three-year SMU career. … Goalkeeper Chris Williams (Chicago, Ill.) started 15 of the team's 17 games, compiling a 1.66 goals-against-average, while stopping 80 of the 106 shots he faced. … Williams, who did not have a shutout in his first three seasons, recorded three in 2011 — including back-to-back shutouts against North Central and Grinnell in a four-day stretch that earned him MIAC Player of the Week honors. … GK Joey Petrich (Elk River, Minn.) started the final two games of the season, making 14 saves in a 1-0 double-overtime loss to Macalester in his collegiate debut on Oct. 25. … SMU's three goals vs. Concordia on Oct. 1 were a season high. … The Cardinals scored six of their 10 goals in the first half. … The Cardinals' 1-0 victory over Grinnell on Sept. 10, 2011 was the first for Pete Watkins as SMU's head coach.

Scouting The Edgewood Eagles:
2012 Roster | 2011 Final Statistics | 2012 Schedule
Edgewood, which graduated 10 seniors from last year's 8-7-3 team, returned to the NAC Tournament in 2011, after missing the postseason for the first time in program history in 2010. … Edgewood has played in three NCAA Tournaments (1999, 2004, 2005). The Eagles last conference title came in 2000 as part of the Lake Michigan Conference. … Edgewood returns a young nucleus of players who made impacts as freshmen in 2011. Jake Owen made the All-NAC second team last year, while Alexander Ribeiro was honorable mention All-NAC and named to the NAC All-Freshman team. Kelmend Isaj was also named to the NAC All-Freshman team. …
Isaj led the Eagles in scoring a year ago, netting team highs in goals (7) and points (15). … Edgewood ranked fourth in the NAC last season in scoring defense, allowing just 1.29 goals per game. … Edgewood coach Tim Alexander is one of only five coaches in the history of the NCAA (all divisions) to win both 200 men's soccer games and 200 women's soccer games. He has a total of 471 career wins (257 women, 214 men) and has a chance to reach 500 career wins this season. … Alexander is the only head men's (since 1990) and women's (since 1993) soccer coach in Edgewood's history.