WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer team closes out the nonconference portion of its2014 schedule on Wednesday, as the Cardinals host UW-La Crosse in a 7 p.m. game at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-9-1 Overall) vs. UW-La Crosse Eagles (3-5-5 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals surrendered the game's only goal with nine seconds remaining in regulation, as Bethel handed Saint Mary's a 1-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback Saturday at Ona Orth Athletic Complex in Arden Hills, Minn.  | Recap
• UW-La Crosse: St. Thomas scored four second-half goals in dealing UW-La Crosse a 4-2 nonconference setback Saturday evening at Veterans Memorial Field in La Crosse, Wis. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-La Crosse—Their Last Meeting:
• October 23, 2013: Saint Mary's had an answer for UW-La Crosse's Kelly Denk — once. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they didn't have an answer the second time around, as Denk's second goal of the game in the 51st minute broke a 1-1 tie and sparked UW-La Crosse to a 3-1 nonconference win over SMU at Veterans Memorial Sports Complex in La Crosse, Wis. | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on their home turf on Saturday, as Saint Mary's entertains Saint Benedict in a 2 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match up at Ochrymowycz Field.
• UW-La Crosse: The Eagles return to Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, traveling to Oshkosh, Wis., for a 4 p.m. showdown with UW-Oshkosh.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2014 Statistics
Saturday's heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Bethel marked the fifth time in the Cardinals' last six contests that the game has been decided by one goal or less. … Kelli Harstad (Hampton, Minn.) and Emma Schaefer (Falcon Heights, Minn.) netted the Cardinals' goals in their 3-2 loss to St. Olaf last Tuesday, while Caroline Blackwood (Norwalk, Va.) picked up assists on both goals. … Emily Loof (Colorado Springs, Colo.)—who recorded two goals against Gustavus on Oct. 1 for her fourth multiple-goal game of the season—leads the team in goals with 11 goals and 24 points, while Blackwood is the team's assist leader with four. … Last Tuesday's two-assist performance was the first multiple-assist game of Blackwood's collegiate career. … Schaefer is second to Loof in both goals (6) and points (15). … Loof's 24 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 17 of the team's 26 goals this season. … Loof notched her first collegiate hat trick against Bethany Lutheran on Sept. 23. The freshman became the second player this season to net three goals in a game—Schaefer 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. … 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 all four of their penalty kicks this season—Schaefer scored on a PK vs. Buena Vista on Oct. 7 and vs. UW-Superior on Sept. 6, and Loof added PK goals against Carleton on Sept. 20 and Concordia on Oct. 3. … Victoria Perez (Upland, Calif.) collected her first collegiate win in goal against Buena Vista Tuesday, stopping three of the four shots she faced. … Miranda Halling (Rochester, Minn.), who made a season-high 10 saves against Concordia on Oct. 3,  boasts a team-leading 47 saves this season. … Perez enters Wednesday's nonconference game against UW-La Crosse boasting a 1.95 goals-against-average and .700 save percentage, while Halling—who recorded her first collegiate shutout against UW-Superior on Sept. 6—owns a 2.45 GAA and a .701 save percentage. … Saint Mary's contest against St. Catherine on Oct. 11 snapped a streak of three consecutive overtime games for the Cardinals. Saint Mary's battled Gustavus to a 3-3, 2 OT stalemate on Oct. 1, dropped a 2-1 double-overtime decision to Concordia last on Oct. 3, and edged Buena Vista 2-1 in OT on Oct. 6. … The Cardinals' win over Buena Vista improved Saint Mary's to 2-1-1 in its four overtime games this season. … The Cardinals' tie against Gustavus on Oct. 1 was their first deadlock since October 2, 2010, when Saint Mary's tied Concordia 0-0. … Saint Mary's seven-goal outburst vs. Bethany Lutheran on Sept. 23 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 scored 14 goals in the first half, and 10 after halftime. On the flip side, the Cardinals' opponents have scored 19 of their 32 goals in the game's opening 45 minutes.
 
Scouting The UW-La Crosse Eagles:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2014 Statistics
Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the Eagles' second straight match-up vs. a team from the MIAC. UW-L fell to St. Thomas on Saturday. … UW-La Crosse is now 1-2-1 vs. the MIAC heading into Wednesday's game against the Cardinals. … St. Thomas' four goals Saturday were the most allowed by the Eagles in a game this season. … UW-L has now been outscored 7-3 in its four games against MIAC opponents this season. … UW-La Crosse has played five overtime games this season—and all five have ended in ties. … Kelly Denk enters Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's leading the team in goals (3) and points (6). … UW-L's seven assists this season have come from seven different players. … Megan Gresl and Kirsten Anderson are second to Denk in goals with two each, while Gresl is also second in points with five. … Two of Denk's three goals—including one vs. St. Thomas on Saturday—have come on penalty kicks. … Ashley Tracy has started 12 of the team's 13 games in goal, compiling a 1.14 goals-against-average and an .844 save percentage. … Tracy has made a team-leading 81 saves and owns five shutouts. … UW-La Crosse has scored seven of its 11 goals in the second half, while the Eagles' opponents have netted 10 of their 16 goals—including all four of the Tommies' on Saturday—after halftime.