WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer team returns home for the first time since Sept. 3 on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Gustavus in a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-3-0 MIAC | 3-5-0 Overall) vs. Gustavus Gusties (0-2-1 MIAC | 1-5-2 Overall)
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals could not stop St. Thomas' Morgan McConachie—who had two goals and two assists—as the Tommies dealt Saint Mary's a 4-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at UST's South Field Saturday | Recap
• Gustavus: After notching its first victory of the season against Crown on Sept. 23, the Gusties could not keep the momentum flowing on Saturday, falling to league-leading Saint Benedict 3-0 in St. Joseph, Minn. | Recap
 
SMU vs. Gustavus — Their Last Meeting:
• October 2, 2013: A year ago, Gustavus' Amanda Cartony proved to be Saint Mary's worst nightmare, scoring both Gustie goals in a 2-1 victory over the Cardinals at Ochrymowycz Field in Winona, Minn. Cartony was at it again when the team met in St. Peter, Minn. — but this time, she had some help. Cartony scored one of the Gusties' three goals, as Gustavus handed Saint Mary's a 3-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Gustie Soccer Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back on their home turf on Saturday, as Saint Mary's hosts high-powered Concordia in a 1 p.m. conference tilt at Ochrymowycz Field.
• Gustavus: The Gusties return home on Saturday, hosting St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. MIAC showdown at the Gustie Soccer Field in St. Peter, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2014 Statistics
After six straight road games, the Cardinals finally return home Wednesday against the Gusties. … Saint Mary's game vs. Gustavus is the first of three straight home contests for the Cardinals. … Saturday's 4-0 loss to St. Thomas marked the fourth time in five losses that Saint Mary's has surrendered four goals. … The Cardinals' 7-1 win over Bethany Lutheran on Sept. 23 snapped their three-game losing streak. … Saint Mary's seven-goal outburst vs. the Vikings marked the second time this season the Cardinals have netted seven goals in a game. Saint Mary's also tallied seven goals in a 7-0 win over UW-Superior on Sept. 6. … The Cardinals' seven goals against Bethany Lutheran and UW-Superior were the most since Saint Mary's posted back-to-back 7-0 victories over Ripon and Lakeland on Sept. 4-5, 2010. … Saint Mary's has netted 16 goals in their three wins, but have allowed 18 goals in their five losses. … Emily Loof (Colorado Springs, Colo.) recorded her first collegiate hat trick against Bethany Lutheran. The freshman became the second player this season to net three goals in a game—Emma Schaefer (Falcon Heights, Minn.) scored three times against UW-Superior on Sept. 6. … The three-goal efforts by Loof and Schaefer are the most in a game since Amy Sibik netted four goals against Ripon on Sept. 4, 2010. They also mark the first time Saint Mary's has had two games where an individual has scored three or more goals since Sibik scored four goals against UW-Superior and three goals against Simpson during the 2009 season. … Schaefer finished with a goal and two assists vs. Bethany Lutheran on Sept. 23, while Caroline Blackwood (Norwalk, Va.) had a goal and an assist. … Bri Ashmore (Westminster, Colo.) collected her first goal of the season to account for Saint Mary's other goal vs. Bethany Lutheran. … Loof has recorded three multiple-goal games this season—two, two-goal performances and her three-goal effort against Bethany Lutheran. … Loof leads the team in goals (8) and points (16). … Loof's 16 points are the most since Amy Sibik finished with 29 (12 goals, 5 assists) during the 2010 season. … Loof and Schaefer have now combined to score 12 of the team's 18 goals this season. … Schaefer, Blackwood and Jordan Hill (Rosemount, Minn.) share the team lead in assists with two each. … Bridgett Leverich (Oswego, Ill.), Anna Taylor (St. Paul, Minn.) and Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) have all netted their first collegiate goals to account for the Cardinals' other three goals. … The Cardinals have converted on both of their penalty kicks this season—Schaefer scored on a PK vs. UW-Superior and Loof added hers against Carleton on Sept. 20 … Miranda Halling (Rochester, Minn.) made five saves against St. Thomas, pushing her team-leading saves total to 32. … Halling has made a season-high seven saves in a game three times this season. … Halling—who recorded her first collegiate shutout against UW-Superior on Sept. 6—enters Wednesday's conference game at Gustavus owning a 2.52 goals-against-average and a .681 save percentage in seven games. … … Saint Mary's has scored eight goals in the first half, and nine after halftime. On the flip side, the Cardinals' opponents have scored 15 of their 20 goals in the game's opening 45 minutes. … The Cardinals' 2-1 win over UW-River Falls on Aug. 31 was their first overtime victory since beating Gustavus 1-0 in double-overtime on Sept. 29, 2009.
 
Scouting The Gustavus Gusties:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2014 Statistics
Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's is the third straight road game for the Gusties. … After managing just three goals in their first six games, Gustavus erupted for six goals in its 6-0 win over Crown on Sept. 23. … The Gusties' victory over Crown snapped their season-opening six-game winless streak (0-4-2). … Last Saturday's 3-0 loss to Saint Benedict marked the fourth time this season Gustavus has failed to score at least one goal. GAC is 0-3-1 in those four games. … After failing to score a goal in its first three games—an 8-0 loss to Carnegie Mellon, a 7-0 setback vs. Gettysburg and a 0-0 tie against UW-La Crosse—Gustavus has scored nine goals in its last five games combined. … Maddison Ackiss has accounted for six of the team's nine goals, while also leading the team in points (13) and sharing the team lead in assists (1) with Hannah Sturtz and Heather Goff. … Caroline Olson has started seven of the team's eight games, compiling a 2.52 goals-against-average and a .796 save percentage. … Olson has made 48 saves—including a season-high 14 against Gettysburg on Aug. 30. … Gustavus has scored four goals in the first half and five in the second. On the flip side, GAC's opponents have tallied 16 of their 27 goals in the game's opening 45 minutes.