APPLETON, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer team kicks off the 2017 season on Friday, as the Cardinals head to Lawrence for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against the Vikings
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016: 2-14-1 Overall) at Lawrence Vikings (2016: 1-14-1 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Today's nonconference matchup is the season-opener for both the Cardinals and the Vikings.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Lawrence—Their Last Meeting:
• September 9, 2012 * Winona, Minn.: As far as Saint Mary's was concerned, Lawrence picked the wrong time to right its offense, as the Vikings scored their first two goals of the season to hand the Cardinals a 2-1 nonconference setback Sunday afternoon at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back in action—and right back on the road—on Sunday, traveling to Ripon, Wis., for a 1 p.m. nonconference game against Ripon.
• Lawrence: The Vikings are back on the field on Sunday, heading to Chicago, Ill., for a 3 p.m. nonconference contest against North Park.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Cardinals boasted a pair of players who earned MIAC post-season honors last season—Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.) was named First-Team All-MIAC for the second straight year, while Ashlie Malone (Peyton, Colo.) was named honorable-mention All-MIAC in her first year as a Cardinal. … Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.), Becca Dup (Albert Lea, Minn.), and Emily Loof (Colorado Springs, Colo.) closed out the year sharing the team lead in goals with three each—one more than Maddy Wallraff (Blaine, Minn.), Bridgett Leverich (Oswego, Ill.), and Hailey Cottle (Orting, Wash.). … Aubrie Cornell (Columbia, Mo.) owned a team-high three assists, one in front of Schaefer, Wallraff, Carina Friend (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Shelly Wing (Verona, Wis.). … Schaefer was the team's points leader with eight, two in front of Loof, Dup, and Wallraff. … Loof collected the Cardinals' first and last goals of the season—scoring in the game's 72^nd minute in the opener against Luther on Sept. 1 and in the 84^th minute of the finale against Carleton on Oct. 29. … 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. … Saint Mary's had three players—Cottle, Abby Lafko (Gilbert, Ariz.), and Maura Michener (Winona, Minn.)—score their first collegiate goals this season. … Gabriella Pederson (Chaska, Minn.) closed out a stellar freshman season, stopping a career-high 11 shots in Saint Mary's season-ending 3-2 loss to Carleton on Oct. 29. … Pederson also owned a pair of 10-save performances and finished the year with eight games of eight of more saves. … Pederson, who started the Cardinals' last 16 games in goal, recorded two shutouts this season. Pederson earned her first collegiate shutout against Benedictine on Sept. 9—without having to record a save—while stopping the lone UW-Superior shot she faced en route to shutout No. 2 on Sept. 18. … Pederson posted a 2.06 goals-against-average and made 99 saves. … The Cardinals played three overtime games last season—Saint Mary's dropped 1-0 OT decisions to both Concordia and UW-River Falls, while battling Benedictine to a 0-0, double-overtime draw. … 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' scoreless deadlock against Benedictine on Sept. 9 was also their first 0-0 tie since Oct. 2, 2010, when Saint Mary's and Concordia played 110 minutes of scoreless soccer. … 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. … The Cardinals scored 12 of their 19 goals in the second half. … 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. … The Cardinals faced a pair of nationally ranked teams in a four-day span this season—falling to No. 26 UW-La Crosse on Oct. 19 and No. 13 St. Thomas on Oct. 22.
 
Scouting The Lawrence Vikings:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Vikings head into 2017 on the heels of a 1-14-1 season a year ago—including an 0-8-1 showing in conference play. … Lawrence ended the season in the midst of an 11-game winless streak (0-10-1)—the tie coming in a season-ending 2-2 deadlock against Beloit. … Lawrence collected its lone win of the season on Sept. 14, beating Lakeland 1-0. … The Vikings had one MIAC team on their schedule a year ago, falling to Macalester 9-0 as part of the ACM Tournament in Lake Forest, Ill. … Ryan Berkley led the team in goals (5) and points (11). … Berkley accounted for five of the team's eight goals last season, while Mari Hubanks, Greta Fritz, and Casey Merkle netted the Vikings' other three goals. … Berkley, Hubanks, and Fritz accounted for Lawrence's three assists last season. … Kori Looker appeared in 14 of the team's 16 games in goal last season, compiling a 3.85 goals-against-average, while making 130 saves. … Looker notched Lawrence's lone shutout, stopping all three shots she faced in the 1-0 win over Lakeland on Sept. 14. … Lawrence scored four goals in the first half and four in the second, while the Vikings' opponents tallied 38 first-half goals and 34 after halftime. … Lawrence played two overtime games last season, falling to falling to Cornell (2-1) and tying Beloit (2-2).