ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, traveling to Bethel for a 1 p.m. showdown with the Royals.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-2-0 MIAC, 2-4-1 Overall) at Bethel Royals (1-0-0 MIAC, 4-1-1 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
•  Saint Mary's—September 21, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals surrendered the game's only goal four minutes into the first overtime, as UW-River Falls handed Saint Mary's a 1-0 nonconference setback at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
• Bethel—September 20, 2016 * Arden Hills, Minn.: The Royals continued their dominance on their home field, rolling to a 5-0-nonconference win over Northwestern at Ona Orth Athletic Complex | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• September 26, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: Maddy Wallraff (Blaine, Minn.) and Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.) each scored goals in the game's first 22 minutes, igniting the Cardinals—who had been held scoreless in each of its last three games—to a 2-0 conference victory over Bethel at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Wednesday, traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a 4 p.m. MIAC showdown with Gustavus.
• Bethel: The Royals step out of conference play on Monday, heading to New Ulm, Minn., for a 4 p.m. nonconference game against Martin Luther.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against UW-River Falls was the second of back-to-back nonconference games against teams from the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) for the Cardinals. … Saturday's game at Bethel is the first of back-to-back road games for the Cardinals, who play at Gustavus on Wednesday. … Wednesday's 1-0 loss to UW-River Falls was the second overtime game of the season for the Cardinals, who battled Benedictine to a 0-0 deadlock on Sept. 9. … Gabriella Pederson (Chaska, Minn.)—who made four saves against UW-River Falls on Wednesday—stopped the only shot she faced against UW-Superior last Sunday en route to her second collegiate shutout. … Pederson recorded her first collegiate shutout against Benedictine on Sept. 9—without having to record a save. … Pederson, who has started six of the Cardinals' seven games in goal, has posted a pair of career-high eight-save performances this season. The freshman stopped eight shots in her first collegiate start against Luther on Sept. 1, and equaled that effort against Augsburg on Sept. 13. … Pederson owns a 1.48 goals-against-average and has made 29 saves in 515 minutes played. … Sarah Sieracki (Schererville, Ind.) picked up the win in goal against Martin Luther on Sept. 5, stopping four of the six first-half shots she faced. … The Cardinals' five goals last weekend—one against Saint Benedict last Saturday and four vs. UW-Superior on Sunday—came from five different players. … Becca Dup (Albert Lea, Minn.) collected the Cardinals' goal in Saturday's 4-1 loss to Saint Benedict. … Emily Loof (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Abby Lafko (Gilbert, Ariz.), Hailey Cottle (Orting, Wash.), and Bridgette Leverich (Verona, Wis.) scored vs. UW-Superior Sunday. … With their goals against UW-Superior, Loof, Lafko, and Cottle moved into a tie for the team lead in goals (2) with Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.) and Maddy Wallraff (Blaine, Minn.). … Schaefer and Wallraff are the team's points leader with six—one more than Leverich—while Aubrie Cornell (Columbia, Mo.) owns a team-high three assists. … Schaefer and Wallraff each scored two goals in the Cardinals' 7-2 win over Martin Luther on Sept. 5. It was the fourth multiple-goal game of her career for Schaefer, while it was the first time in her career that Wallraff has scored twice in a game. … The Cardinals' seven goals in their 7-2 nonconference win over Martin Luther on Sept. 5 were a season high. All seven goals came after Saint Mary's surrendered back-to-back tallies to the Vikings in the game's opening 20 minutes. … The Cardinals' seven goals against Martin Luther were the most since netting seven against both UW-Superior and Bethany Lutheran during the 2014 season. … Cottle's goal against Martin Luther on Sept. 5 was her first as a Cardinal. … Loof collected the Cardinals' first goal of the season, scoring in the game's 72^nd minute against Luther on Sept. 1. … Loof has now scored at least one goal in all three seasons at Saint Mary's. … All five of the Cardinals goals last weekend came in the second half. Saint Mary's has now scored each of its last nine goals in the second half. … The Cardinals' 0-0 deadlock against Benedictine on Sept. 9 was their first tie since a 3-3 stalemate against Gustavus on Oct. 1, 2014. … The Cardinals' game against Benedictine was also Saint Mary's first 0-0 tie since Oct. 2, 2010, when the Cardinals and Concordia played 110 minutes of scoreless soccer. … The Cardinals' 7-2 win over Martin Luther on Sept. 5 snapped a 12-game road losing streak, dating back to a 7-1 win at Bethany Lutheran on Sept. 23, 2014.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2016 Roster | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the fifth straight home game for the Royals, who are a perfect 4-0-0 on their home field this season. … With their 5-0 win over Northwestern Tuesday, the Royals pushed their winning streak to four straight. … Tuesday's victory vs. Northwestern was Bethel's second straight 5-0 victory. BU has now outscored its opponents 18-1 during its current four-game winning streak—including three, 5-0 victories and a 3-1 conference-opening win over St. Olaf. … Bethel's five goals against Northwestern came from five different players—Maria Retting, Alicia Halikas, Mikayla Nordin, Mikala Smith, and Marnie Zilka. … Maggie Sipe enters Saturday's contest against Saint Mary's as the team-leader in both goals (6) and points (16), while sharing the team's top spot in assists (4) with Nordin. … BU's 19 goals through six games have come from six different players—Sipe (6), Nordin (4), Retting (3), Halikas (3), Zilka (2), and Smith (1). … Sipe owns three of the Royals' four game-winning goals, with Retting accounting for the other. … BU is 1-for-1 in penalty kicks—as are the Royals' opponents. … Dylan Melby has started all six games in goal for the Royals, compiling a 0.64 goals-against-average, while making 26 saves. … Fellow goalkeeper Kaylee Peterson has appeared in three games, not allowing a goal, while stopping all three shots she's faced in 135 minutes. … The Royals have scored 13 of their 19 goals in the second half. On the flip side, BU's opponents have scored all three of their goals in the game's opening 45 minutes. … Bethel has played one overtime game this season, battling North Central (Ill.) to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 4.