ST. PAUL, Minn. – Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer coach Neil Cassidy knew one of the keys to his team's success against St. Catherine Saturday would be getting off to a fast start.
 
And the game certainly had a fast start-two goals in the game's first 20 minutes fast.
 
Unfortunately for Cassidy, it was the Wildcats who got out of the blocks quickly, racing out to that early 2-0 lead and never looking back in handing Saint Mary's a 2-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback.
 
Hannah Brown opened the scoring the Wildcats in the 10th minute, beating Saint Mary's goalkeeper Victoria Perez off an assist from Julie Zyla. Zyla was in a giving mood again 10 minutes later, setting up Ellen Kokes' third goal of the season as St. Catherine pushed its lead to 2-0—a lead it would not relinquish over the game's final 70 minutes.
 
Perez finished with a career-high seven saves in goal for Saint Mary's, while SCU goalkeeper Danielle Mendez stopped all three Cardinal shots in posting the shutout.
 
Saint Mary's (0-5-1 MIAC, 4-7-1 overall) is back in action on Tuesday, as the Cardinals return home to host St. Olaf in a 7 p.m. conference game at Ochrymowycz Field.