ST. PAUL, Minn. — Saint Mary's University of Minnesota goalkeeper Gabriella Pederson (Chaska, Minn.) entered Wednesday's Cardinal women's soccer showdown against St. Catherine having made eight more saves in a game six times this season.
 
Make that seven times.
 
Only this time, the Cardinal freshman hit the eight-save barrier—in the first half alone.
 
Unfortunately for Pederson—who added two second-half saves in equaling her career high with 10—the high-powered Wildcat offense kicked into high gear in the game's final 45 minutes, scoring four times in handing the Cardinals a 5-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback.
 
The Wildcats got on the board late in the first half, as Brittany Kollman was finally able to put a shot past Pederson—netting her second of the season off the rebound of a Kaitlin Machovec shot with just 3:03 remaining before halftime—to give SCU a 1-0 lead at the break.
 
By the time Kollman found the back of the net for a second time with 4:38 remaining in regulation, the Wildcats had already put the game out of reach—getting second-half goals by Julia Zyla, Machovec, and Kelly Molitor—en route to the conference win.
 
While Pederson was busy in the Cardinal net with her career-high 10 saves, Wildcat goalkeeper Jessica Perez-Adame finished with six saves in recording the shut out.
 
The Cardinals (0-10-0 MIAC, 2-13-1 overall) close out their regular-season schedule on Saturday, hosting Carleton in a 1 p.m. contest at Ochrymowycz Field. It will be the final home game for Cardinal seniors Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.), Ellen Moran (Lakeville, Minn.), Marissa Dressely (Cottage Grove, Minn.), Aubrie Cornell (Columbia, Mo.), and Bridgett Leverich (Oswego, Ill.).