WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's soccer team kicks off the 2017 season on Friday, as the Cardinals entertain Crown in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016: 8-9-1 Overall) vs. Crown Storm (2016: 7-12-1 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Today's nonconference matchup is the season-opener for both the Cardinals and the Storm.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Crown—Their Last Meeting:
• October 20, 2016 * St. Bonifacius, Minn.: Saint Mary's entered its nonconference game against Crown in a rather foul mood. Being held without a goal in back-to-back games will do that to a team. And the Cardinals took out their offensive frustrations on the host Storm early—scoring a pair of goals in the game's first 25 minutes, en route to a 2-1 victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action on Wednesday, entertaining Viterbo in a 4 p.m. nonconference game at Ochrymowycz Field.
• Crown: The Storm kick off the home portion of their schedule on Saturday, entertaining Bethel in a 6 p.m. nonconference game in St. Bonafacius, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Cardinals closed out the season with an 8-9-1 overall record—it was the most wins in a season since Saint Mary's finished 8-8-2 during the 2002 campaign. … The Cardinals' three conference wins, meanwhile, were the most since collecting four conference victories during the 2012 campaign. … Sean Butcher (Cave Creek, Ariz.) and Garrett Grunke (Verona, Wis.) closed out the season as the team's goal-scoring leaders with four each. … The four goals were a single-season career high for both Butcher and Grunke. … Butcher, who recorded his first collegiate two-assist game against UM-Morris on Oct. 26, finished the year with team-highs in both assists (5) and points (11). … Grunke ended the year second to Butcher in both assists (3) and points (11). … Seven of the Cardinals' 21 goals last season were collegiate firsts—Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.) and Adam Estrada (Belvidere, Ill.) vs. Crown; Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.) and Kyle Lichttenegger (De Pere, Wis.) against Bethel; Grunke and Killian Pugsley (La Crosse, Wis.) vs. Bethany Lutheran; and Mike Doheny (Lake Zurich, Ill.) vs. Martin Luther. … James Larson (Polson, Mont.) scored two goals last season—and both were game-winners. … Larson scored the Cardinals' first goal of the season with his first-half tally against Martin Luther on Sept. 1. … Butcher owned the team's lone penalty kick goal, converting against Hamline on Oct. 8. Saint Mary's finished 1-for-2 in PKs this year. … Nate Levy (Byron, Minn.) recorded a career-high 13 saves in the Cardinals season-ending 2-1, double-overtime loss to Carleton on Oct. 29. … Levy has recorded 10 or more saves in a game three times in his career. Levy posted 10-save efforts against Hamline on Oct. 8, 2016, and vs. Carleton on Oct. 31, 2015. … Levy recorded three shutouts last season—stopping all four shots in a 2-0 win against Concordia on Oct. 1, while also posting 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, who started 14 of the Cardinals' 18 games, finished with a 1.35 goals-against-average and made 81 saves. … As a team, the Cardinals scored a season-high three goals three times a year ago—beating UM-Morris 3-0 on Oct. 26, while blanking Bethany Lutheran 3-0 on Sept. 7 and topping Bethel 3-1 on Sept. 24. … Saint Mary's outscored its opponents 13-10 in the first half, but the Cardinals were outscored 15-10 after halftime. … Six of the Cardinals' eight wins last season were by shutout—the exceptions, a 2-1 win over Crown last Thursday, and a 3-1 win over Bethel on Sept. 24. … The Cardinals' 1-1 deadlock against Hamline on Oct. 8 was their first tie of the season—Saint Mary's was the last team in the MIAC to record a tie this season. … The Cardinals played six overtime games last season—including three decided by 1-0 decisions. Saint Mary's finished 1-4-1 in those six OT contests. … 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. … 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 finished 5-3-0 against non-MIAC opponents last season. … Saint Mary's did not allow a shot on goal in a pair of 3-0 wins—first against Bethany Lutheran on Sept. 7 and then against UM-Morris on Oct. 26.
 
Scouting The Crown Storm:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Storm enter 2017 on the heels of a 7-12-1 season a year ago—including a 4-4-0 record in the UMAC. … Crown reached the UMAC post-season tournament, but was eliminated by Martin Luther, 3-2 in double-overtime in the quarterfinals. … After opening the season 0-6-1—and going 2-8-1 in their first 11—the Storm closed out the season winning seven of their final 11 games. … Storm Heyer and Sam Eckman closed out 2016 as the team's goal-scoring leaders with 11 each. … Heyer also led the team in assists with seven and points with 29. … Heyer was one of three Crown players with 15 or more points last season—Eckman (27) and Ger Jones (18) were the other two. … Heyer and Jones accounted for all seven of the Storm's game-winning goals last season—Heyer had four and Jones added three. … Crown attempted four penalty kicks a year ago, going 3-for-4. Reagan Mahoney was 2-for-2 and Eckman was 1-for-2. … Crown's 38 goals in 2016 came from 10 different players. … Crown used three different goalkeepers last season, with Eli Etzel and Justin Lao seeing the majority of the work. Etzel owned a 2.30 goals-against-average and made a team-high 70 saves in 12 appearances, while Lao boasted a 2.22 GAA and had 54 saves in 10 outings. … Etzel collected all four of the Storm's shutouts in 2016. … Crown played three overtime games last season, going 0-2-1. … Crown scored two or more goals in all seven of its wins a year ago, including a season-high 10 goals in a 10-1 win over Grace on Oct. 21. … Five of Crown's seven wins last season came at home, where the Storm owned a 5-5-0 record.