MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. ­— For Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer coach Neil Cassidy, the game plan was simple one for the Cardinals in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference-opener against Augsburg Tuesday evening—shut down the Auggies' offensive attack.
 
Unfortunately, the Cardinals learned first-hand—smothering that high-octane offense was anything but simple.
 
Augsburg—which had outscored its last three opponents 14-0—scored twice in the game's opening 45 minutes and added another in the second half in handing the Cardinals a 3-0 setback at Edor Nelson Field.
 
The Auggies got on the board first, as Ciara Gregory netted her third goal of the season in the game's 30^th minute to give Augsburg the 1-0 advantage.
 
Eight minutes later, Augsburg struck again, as Carter Denison took a feed from Olivia House and beat Cardinal goalkeeper Gabriella Pederson (Chaska, Minn.) to give the Auggies a 2-0 advantage heading into the halftime break.
 
Augsburg's Marta Anderson broke through in the 81^st minute, netting an unassisted tally, to round out the scoring.
 
Pederson was busy in goal for the Cardinals, making a career-high eight saves, while a pair of Augsburg goalkeepers combined for the one-save shutout.
 
The Cardinals (0-1-0 MIAC, 1-2-1 overall) are back in action on Saturday, entertaining Saint Benedict in a 1 p.m. conference matchup at Ochrymowycz Field.