WINONA, Minn. — If Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer coach Neil Cassidy were granted one with, it would have been to start Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Saint Benedict at the 20-minute mark.
 
After all, over the game's final 70 minutes of the teams' conference contest at Ochrymowycz Field, the Cardinals played the high-powered Blazers to a 1-1 draw.
 
Unfortunately for Cassidy, the Blazers erupted for three goals in the game's opening 20 minutes—including two in a span of less than two minutes—in handing the Cardinals a 4-1 setback.
 
Saint Benedict opened the scoring at the 11:28 mark, as Jane Koch took a feed from Brooke DeMets and beat Cardinal goalkeeper Gabriella Pederson (Chaska, Minn.). DeMets netted her first goal of the season at 12:57—just a minute and a half after setting up Koch's goal—to push the Blazers' lead to 2-0.
 
And the quick-striking Blazers weren't finished, getting a goal from Taylor Hedin—her third of the season—at 19:46 to take a commanding 3-0 advantage, an advantage they would maintain heading into the halftime break.
 
Saint Mary's took a page out of the Blazers' playbook to open the second half, needing less than two minutes to cut the gap to 3-1, as Becca Dup (Albert Lea, Minn.) tallied her first goal of the season, picking up a loose ball in front of the Saint Benedict net and beating CSB goalkeeper Heather Kaluzniak.
 
That, however, would be as close as the Cardinals would get, as Saint Benedict added an insurance goal off the foot of Nicole Newman to ice the victory.
 
Pederson, making her fifth straight start in goal for the Cardinals, finished with five saves, while Kaluzniak stopped five of the Cardinals' six shots, before giving way to Kendall Koenen with 13:21 remaining.
 
Saint Mary's (0-2-0 MIAC, 1-3-1 overall) step out of conference play on Sunday, heading to Superior, Wis., for a 2 p.m. game against UW-Superior.