WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's soccer team kicks off its 2013 season at home on Friday, as the Cardinals host Cornell (Iowa) in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at Ochrymowycz Field.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2012 Final: 7-10-1 Overall) vs. Cornell Rams (2012 Final: 0-17-1 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
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Last Action:
Friday's game is the 2013 season opener for both the Cardinals and the Rams.

SMU vs. Cornell — Their Last Meeting:
Friday's game will be the first meeting between SMU and Cornell in program history.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are right back on their home turf on Sunday, as SMU hosts Presentation in a 4 p.m. nonconference game at Ochrymowycz Field. … Cornell is also back on the pitch on Sunday, as the Rams head to Aurora, Ill., for an 11 a.m. nonconference contest against Aurora.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013 Roster | 2012 Final Statistics | 2013 Schedule
The Cardinals closed out the 2012 season with seven wins, their highest victory total since 2002, when they finished 8-8-1. SMU's four conference wins, meanwhile, were the most since 2005, when the Cardinals went 5-5-0. … SMU's 2-0 victory over Macalester on Oct. 23 was the first victory under second-year coach Pete Watkins that was not decided by one goal. … The Cardinals scored a combined 14 goals in their seven wins and one tie, but were held off the scoreboard in seven of their 10 losses. … First-Team All-MIAC selection Matt Graber (Denver, Colo.) finished as the team leader in both goals (4) and points (9) last season, while Jaime Zepeda (Chicago, Ill.) boasted a team-best three assists. … Graber's four goals are the only ones of SMU's 19 goals last season not scored by a player in his first year in a Cardinal uniform. … The Cardinals had a multiple-goal scorer four times last season — Graber, Zepeda, Krystian Drozdz (Franklin Park, Ill.) and Midhat Mujic (Rochester, Minn.) once each. It marks the most multiple-goal scorers since the 2006 season, when Mike Schmitt (twice), James Kuhnle and Emmanuel Ogunremi all scored twice in a game. …  All three of SMU's goalkeepers — Joey Petrich (Elk River, Minn.), Dontae Gillespie (Naperville, Ill.) and Christian Van Dam (Linovia, Mich.) — recorded their first collegiate shutouts last season. Van Dam stopped all six shots he faced against Hamline on Oct. 6 in recording his first collegiate shutout, while Petrich recorded a three-save shutout vs. Buena Vista on Oct. 3 and Gillespie posted a nine-save shutout against Concordia-Chicago on Sept. 8. … Van Dam finished the season with a team-leading 42 saves, while Petrich owned the team lead in goals-against-average (1.35) and save percentage (.750). … After scoring more than two goals just once in 17 games in 2011, the Cardinals scored three goals in three of their 18 games last season — including 3-2 wins over Edgewood and Bethel, and a 4-3 overtime loss to St. Thomas. … SMU's 1-1 tie vs. Viterbo on Oct. 15 was the second overtime contest of the season for SMU, which dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to St. Thomas on Sept. 12. … Five of SMU's six wins came on their home turf, where SMU was 5-3-1. … The Cardinals snapped a pair of streaks with their 2-0 win over Macalester on Oct. 23. SMU snapped a two-game losing streak, while also ending an 11-game losing streak and 25-game winless streak (0-22-3) against the Scots — a streak that dated back to a Cardinal win during the 1986 season.

Scouting The Cornell Rams:
2013 Roster | 2012 Final Statistics | 2013 Schedule
Cornell heads into Friday's season opener against Saint Mary's looking for its first win since beating Waldorf 1-0 on Sept. 17, 2011 — a span of 30 games (0-29-1). … Eight of Cornell's 18 games a year ago were decided by two goals or less, including a pair of double-overtime contests — a 1-1 tie vs. Knox and a 3-2 loss to Ripon in their season finale. … Alex Beehler and Andy Harter accounted for seven of the team's 14 goals a year ago, with Beehler netting a team-best four, while Harter was close behind with seven. … Beehler also led the team with 10 points, while Luke Farley boasted a team-leading four assists. … GK Jordan Setser appeared in 14 of the team's 18 games in 2012, making 78 saves, while posting a 3.64 goals-against-average. … Nine of the Rams' 14 goals last season came in the second half.