ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's soccer team steps out of conference play on Thursday, as the Cardinals square off against Crown in a 7 p.m. nonconference matchup.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-7-1 Overall) at Crown Storm (5-10-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
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Last Action:
•  Saint Mary's—October 17, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals surrendered three goals in the second half in dropping a 3-0 nonconference decision to Simpson at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
• Crown—October 19, 2016 * St Bonifacius, Minn.: The Storm's offense was held off the scoreboard, as Northwestern dealt Crown a 3-0 setback | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Crown—Their Last Meeting:
• September 6, 2014 * St. Bonifacius, Minn.: After scoring four goals in collecting their first win of the season, Saint Mary's kept its offense in high gear on Saturday in its nonconference game against Crown. For the first 45 minutes, that is. The Cardinals—and Storm—each found the back of the net twice in the game's opening half, but neither could add that elusive third goal, as the two teams battled to a 2-2, double-overtime tie | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to conference play on Saturday, entertaining nationally ranked and league-leading St. Thomas in a 6 p.m. MIAC matchup at Ochrymowycz Field.
• Crown: The Storm are right back on their home turf in St. Bonifacius, Minn., on Friday, hosting Grace in a 6 p.m. nonconference showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Thursday's game against Crown is the second of back-to-back nonconference games for the Cardinals, who are 3-3-0 against non-MIAC opponents this season. … Last Saturday's 1-0 loss to St. Olaf was the Cardinals' fifth overtime game of the season—Saint Mary's is 1-3-1 in those five contests. … Saint Mary's 3-0 setback vs. Simpson Monday marked just the third time this season the Cardinals have failed to score at least one goal. Saint Mary's also dropped 1-0 decisions at St. Olaf on Oct. 15 and at Gustavus on Sept. 27. … The Cardinals equaled their season high with three goals in a 3-1 win vs. Bethel on Sept. 24. Saint Mary's also scored three goals in a 3-0 win over Bethany Lutheran on Sept. 7. … Five of the Cardinals' six wins this season have been by shutout—the lone exception, a 3-1 win over Bethel on Sept. 24. … Saint Mary's 1-0 OT win over Marian on Sept. 10 was the Cardinals' first overtime win since beating Saint John's 1-0 on Oct. 24, 2009—snapping an 0-8-8 winless streak. … The Cardinals' 2-0 victory over Concordia on Oct. 1 was their sixth win of the season—equaling their win total of a year ago. … The Cardinals' victory over the Cobbers was also Saint Mary's third MIAC win, the most by a Cardinal team since collecting four conference victories during the 2012 season. … Sean Butcher (Cave Creek, Ariz.) and Kyle Lichttenegger (De Pere, Wis.) scored the Cardinals' two goals in their 3-2 loss to nationally ranked Macalester on Oct. 12. … With his goal vs. Macalester, Butcher moved into a tie for the team lead in goals (4) with Garrett Grunke (Verona, Wis.). … Five of the Cardinals' 16 goals this season have been collegiate firsts—Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.) and Lichttenegger against Bethel; Grunke and Killian Pugsley (La Crosse, Wis.) vs. Bethany Lutheran; and Mike Doheny (Lake Zurich, Ill.) vs. Martin Luther. … Along with his team-leading four goals, Grunke also leads the team in points with 10—one more than Butcher—and shares the team's top spot in assists (2) with Jared Wolt (Farmington, Minn.), James Larson (Polson, Mont.), and Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.). … Larson has scored two goals this season—and both have been game-winners. … Larson scored the Cardinals' first goal of the season with his first-half tally against Martin Luther on Sept. 1. … Butcher owns the team's lone penalty kick goal, converting against Hamline on Oct. 8. Saint Mary's is now 1-for-2 in PKs this year. … Alberto Centeno (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) made his second start of the season against Simpson Wednesday, stopping a career-high seven shots. … Nate Levy (Byron, Minn.) equaled his career high with 10 saves against Hamline on Oct. 8. The junior goalkeeper also stopped 10 shots against Carleton on Oct. 31, 2015. … Levy's 10-save effort against Hamline marked the third time this season he has stopped at least eight shots in a game. …  Levy made four saves against Concordia on Oct. 1 en route to his third shutout of the season. Levy's other two shutouts this season were an eight-save effort in the Cardinals' 1-0 win over Saint John's on Sept. 17, and a three-save showing vs. Marian in a 1-0 win on Sept. 10. … Levy has now posted four shutouts in his collegiate career. …  Levy and Centeno combined on a four-save shutout against Martin Luther on Sept. 1. Centeno stopped both shots he faced in the first half, while Levy made two saves in the second half. … Levy and Adam Johannsen (Faribault, Minn.) did not have to make a save in posting the shutout against Bethany Lutheran on Sept. 7. … Levy, who has started 12 of the Cardinals' 14 games, leads the team with a 1.31 goals-against-average and has made 63 saves. … The Cardinals' 1-1 deadlock against Hamline on Oct. 8 their first tie of the season—Saint Mary's was the last team in the MIAC to record a tie this season. … The Cardinals' 1-0 loss to Gustavus on Sept. 27 snapped their two-game winning streak. It was the second time this season Saint Mary's had put together back-to-back victories—and the second time the streak was snapped with an overtime loss. … Saint Mary's 1-0 win over Saint John's on Sept 17 put an end to a six-game losing streak against the Johnnies, dating back to a 1-0, double-overtime win during the 2009 season. … The Cardinals did not allow a shot on goal in their win over Bethany Lutheran on Sept. 7. … Saint Mary's has outscored its opponents 18-17 this season, including 9-7 in the first half.
 
Scouting The Crown Storm:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• The Storm had their two-game winning streak snapped with Wednesday's loss to Northwester. … Both of Crown's wins during their recent two-game run were 2-0 victories. … After opening the season 0-6-1, the Storm have gone 5-4-0 over its last nine—including a pair of two-game winning streaks. … During its season-opening seven-game winless streak, Crown was outscored 25-4. Since, the Storm hold a 15-14 scoring edge. … Crown has scored two or more goals in all five of its wins—including a four-goal effort in a 4-0 win over Northland on Sept. 24. … Four of Crown's five wins have come on their home field—the Storm are 4-3-0 at home, while going just 1-6-1 on the road. … Storm Heyer and Sam Eckman share the team lead with six goals each, while Heyer and Ger Jones are the team-leaders in assists with four apiece. … Heyer has amassed a team-best 16 points, two in front of Eckman and four ahead of Jones. … Heyer (6), Eckman (6), and Jones (4) have accounted for 16 of the team's 19 goals—Austin Higginbotham, Reagan Mahoney, and Josh Samsa have netted the other three. … Heyer owns three of Crown's four game-winning goals. … Justin Lao and Eli Etzel have share the majority of the goalkeeping duties this season. Lao owns a 2.43 goals-against-average and has made 48 saves in eight games played (623:34), while Etzel boasts a 2.52 GAA and has 61 saves in 10 appearances (750:26). … Crown surrendered a pair of first-half goals against Northwestern Wednesday and has now been outscored 20-7 in the first half, and 22-12 after the halftime break. … The Storm have played two overtime games—falling to Northwestern 3-2 on Sept. 27, and tying Wisconsin Lutheran 1-1 on Sept. 3.