ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, traveling to St. Thomas for a 3:30 p.m. showdown with St. Thomas.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-5-0 MIAC | 6-9-0 Overall) vs. St. Thomas Tommies (6-1-1 MIAC | 9-4-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals erupted for five first-half goals in cruising to a 5-2 nonconference win over Martin Luther Wednesday evening at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
• St. Thomas: The Tommies got a goal from Mallory DeBoom in the 24th minute, as St. Thomas closed out its nonconference schedule with a 1-0 victory over UW-Eau Claire Wednesday in Eau Claire, Wis. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas—Their Last Meeting:
• September 27, 2014 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Tommies' smothering defense limited the Cardinals to just two shots on goal—and forward Morgan McConachie was a one-woman offensive wrecking crew—as St. Thomas handed Saint Mary's a 4-0 conference setback at UST's South Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals close out the home portion of their 2015 regular-season schedule on Wednesday, hosting St. Catherine in a 7 p.m. conference game at Ochrymowycz Field.
• St. Thomas: The Tommies are right back on their home turf on Wednesday, entertaining Carleton in a 3:30 p.m. MIAC game at South Field in St. Paul, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against Martin Luther was the final nonconference game of the season for the Cardinals, who finished 3-4-0 in nonleague games this season. … Nine of the Cardinals' last 11 wins—including all six victories this season—have come on their home turf. … With their 5-2 win over Martin Luther, the Cardinals have now won back-to-back games for the first time since beating Ripon and Lakeland by identical 7-0 scores early in the 2010 season. … The Cardinals' five goals against Martin Luther Wednesday were a season high—one more than the four they netted in a 4-0 win over UW-Superior on Sept. 5. … Saint Mary's three goals vs. St. Olaf last Saturday were the most in an MIAC game since Saint Mary's netted three in a 3-1 win over St. Catherine on Oct. 15, 2011. … The Cardinals' three goals in their 3-2 win over St. Olaf last Saturday were the most since Saint Mary's netted a season-best four goals in a 4-0 win over UW-Superior on Sept. 5. … The Cardinals' six wins this season are the most since Saint Mary's went 7-9-0 during the 2010 campaign. … Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.) scored a pair of goals for the Cardinals in their 5-2 win over Martin Luther Wednesday, while Caroline Blackwood (Norwalk, Ohio), Maddy Wallraff (Blaine, Minn.), and Molly Homeyer (Arlington, Texas) accounted for the other three. … Schaefer's two-goal effort vs. Martin Luther was her second multiple-goal game of the season—and third of her collegiate career. Schaefer scored a pair of goals against UW-Superior on Sept. 5, and netted her first collegiate hat trick in the Cardinals' 7-0 win over UW-Superior a year ago. … Schaefer leads the team in goals with six and points with 13. … Homeyer's first-half tally vs. the Knights on Wednesday was her first in a Cardinal uniform. … Wallraff has now scored goals in back-to-back games and is second to Schaefer in both goals (4) and points (8). … Along with her first-half goal, Blackwood also tallied her team-leading fifth assist. It was her second multiple-point game of the season and third of her four-year collegiate career. … Emily Loof (Colorado Springs, Colo.) had an assist on both Saint Mary's goals in its 2-1 win vs. Carroll on Sept. 12. It was Loof's fourth career multiple-point game—and her first two-assist game. … Saint Mary's boasts five players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season—Homeyer, Wallraff, Becca Dup (Albert Lea, Minn.), Anna Taylor (St. Paul, Minn.), and Janis Martinez (Las Vegas, Nev.). … Aubrie Cornell (Columbia, Mo.) started her 15th consecutive game in goal for the Cardinals against Martin Luther Wednesday. The junior goalkeeper had her string of 1,295 consecutive minutes played snapped when Sarah Sieracki (Schererville, Ind.) came in to relieve her 29 minutes into Wednesday's game against Martin Luther. … Cornell finished with a season-high 12 saves against Macalester on Oct. 13—including nine in the second half. … Cornell's 12-save effort—one shy of her career high—marked the third time this season the junior goalkeeper has stopped 10 or more shots in a game. Cornell made 11 saves against Gustavus on Sept. 30, while stopping 10 shots against Concordia on Oct. 3. … Cornell has made 98 saves in 15 games. … Cornell made seven saves vs. Bethel on Sept. 26 en route to her second collegiate shutout. The junior goalkeeper stopped all four shots she faced against UW-Superior on Sept. 5 for her first career shutout. … The Cardinals have scored 13 of their 19 goals this season in the first half, while Saint Mary's opponents have netted 13 goals in the first half, and 12 after halftime. … The Cardinals' 1-0 loss to Gustavus on Sept. 30 was their first overtime game of the season. … Nine of the Cardinals' 15 games this season have been decided by shutout. … Saint Mary's 2-0 loss to UW-River Falls on Sept. 1 marked the second straight season the Cardinals and Falcons opened the season with the winner scoring two goals—Saint Mary's beat UWRF 2-1 in the 2014 season-opener.  
 
Scouting The St. Thomas Tommies:
2015 Roster | 2015 Statistics | 2015 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back home games for the Tommies. … The Tommies need a win or two ties in their last three games to lock up a post-season playoff berth for the fifth time in the last eight seasons. … With their 1-0 win over UW-Eau Claire on Wednesday, St. Thomas extended its winning streak to three straight and its unbeaten string to seven (6-0-1). … UST has sandwiched a pair of three-game winning streaks around a 1-1 tie vs. Macalester during its current seven-game run. … St. Thomas' last five games have all been decided by one goal or less. … UST has outscored its opponents 12-4 during its current seven-game unbeaten streak. … After opening the season 1-3-0, the Tommies have gone 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. … Brielle Bierman enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's as the team-leader in assists (7) and points (17). … Mallory DeBoom's first-half goal against UW-Eau Claire Wednesday was her team-leading sixth of the season. … Bierman is one of three Tommies with 10 or more points through 14 games—DeBoom (15) and Paige Wilberding (10) are the other two. … Three of DeBoom's six goals have been game-winners. … Tarynn Thellig has started 12 of the Tommies' 14 games in goal, compiling a 1.06 goals-against-average and a stellar .809 save percentage. … Thellig has stopped 55 of the 68 shots she's faced and owns four shutouts. … The Tommies have scored in the 89th minute in two of their nine wins this season—beating St. Catherine (2-1) and St. Olaf (1-0). … St. Thomas is 5-1-1 in one-goal games this season, after going 3-6 in one-goal contests a year ago. … The Tommies have outscored their opponents 24-15—including 16-9 in the first half. … UST has allowed just 35 goals in 34 games over the past two seasons. … St. Thomas is 7-0-1 when scoring first this season. … St. Thomas head coach Sheila McGill—a former Saint Mary's soccer standout—collected her 90th collegiate coaching win in UST's 1-0 victory at UW-Eau Claire Wednesday. … McGill has guided the Tommies to eight consecutive winning seasons.