RIPON, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer team is back on the road on Sunday, as the Cardinals head to Ripon for a 1 p.m. nonconference game against the Red Hawks.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0-0 Overall) vs. Ripon Red Hawks (1-0-0 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 1, 2017 * Appleton, Wis.: Mary Loy (Burien, Wash.) scored two goals and Becca Dup (Albert Lea, Minn.) added a pair of assists, as the Cardinals opened the season with a 4-0 nonconference win over Lawrence | Recap
• Ripon—September 1, 2017 * Ripon, Wis.: Paige Pierce scored four goals in leading the Red Hawks to a 6-1, season-opening win over Lakeland | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Ripon—Their Last Meeting:
• September 4, 2010 * Winona, Minn.: After a 3-0 loss to UW-River Falls to open the season, Saint Mary's was determined to get its offense kicked into high gear in its nonconference game against Ripon. And kick-start it they did, as the Cardinals erupted for seven goals en route to a 7-0 win over the Red Hawks at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals kick off the home portion of their schedule on Wednesday, entertaining Bethany Lutheran in a 7 p.m. contest at Ochrymowycz Field.
• Ripon: The Red Hawks hit the road for the first time on Wednesday, traveling to Fond du Lac, Wis., for a 4:30 p.m. nonconference game against Marian.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2016 Final Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Cardinals head into Sunday's game with a perfect 6-0-0 all-time record against Ripon—outscoring the Red Hawks 21-3, including their most recent meeting, a 7-0 Saint Mary's win in 2010. … Sunday's game against Ripon is the second straight road contest to open the season for Saint Mary's, which picked up both of its wins a year ago on the road. … With their 4-0 win over Lawrence last Friday, the Cardinals picked up their first season-opening win since 2014. … All four goals against Lawrence last Friday were scored by freshmen. Mary Loy (Burien, Wash.) scored twice against the Vikings, while Mackenzie Waters (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and Mary Arnold (Winona, Minn.) accounted for the other two. … Becca Dup (Albert Lea, Minn.) recorded her first collegiate two-assist game against the Vikings last Friday, assisting on both of Loy's goals. … Loy's goal in the 21^st minute against Lawrence was the Cardinals' first goal of the season. … Loy's two-goal game was the Cardinals' first since Emma Schaefer and Maddy Wallraff (Coon Rapids, Minn.) both achieved the feat against Martin Luther a year ago. … Gabriella Pederson (Chaska, Minn.) finished with seven saves against Lawrence last Friday en route to her third collegiate shutout. … Pederson closed out a stellar freshman season a year ago with eight games of eight of more saves—including a career-high 11 saves against Carleton on Oct. 29 and a pair of 10-save efforts. … Pederson has now started the Cardinals' last 17 games in goal. … Saint Mary's scored twice in each half against Lawrence last Friday. A year ago, Saint Mary's netted 12 of its 19  goals in the second half.
 
Scouting The Ripon Red Hawks:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Sunday's game against Saint Mary's is the second straight home game for the Red Hawks, who opened the season Friday with a 6-1 win over Lakeland at Prairie Field. … Ripon finished 8-1-0 on its home field in 2016, while going 6-2-1 away from home en route to a 14-3-1 overall record. … Ripon set a single-season program record for victories (14) a year ago, while also earning a spot in the NSCAA Regional Rankings for the first time in program history—climbing as high as fourth in the North Region. … Ripon enters 2017 having lost six players to graduation—including 2016 MWC Player of the Year Paige Birschbach. All told, the Red Hawks lost 74 percent of the team's goals scored and 70 percent of their assists. … Paige Pierce, who started all 18 games as a freshman last season—finishing third on the team in goals (11), assists (7), and points (29)—kicked off 2017 in style last Friday, scoring four goals in the Red Hawks' 6-1 win over Lakeland. … Pierce has now scored three or more goals in a game twice in her career. … Three of Pierce's four goals came in the first half against Lakeland. … Brianna Schnell accounted for Ripon's other two goals against Lakeland. The two tallies were Schnell's first in a Ripon uniform. … With their season-opening 6-1 win over Lakeland last Friday, Ripon has now outscored its last 19 opponents 74-17.