ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer team is back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, traveling to St. Catherine for a 1 p.m. showdown with the Wildcats.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-4-0 MIAC * 5-5-0 Overall) at St. Catherine Wildcats (1-1-2 * 1-4-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats

Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 27, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals surrendered a pair of unanswered goals—including the eventual game-winner 10 minutes into the second half—as Saint Mary's dropped a 2-1 MIAC decision to Bethel at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
• St. Catherine—September 27, 2017 * Northfield, Minn.: The Wildcats and Carleton combined for six goals—including four in the second half—as the two teams battled to a 3-3, double-overtime tie | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine—Their Last Meeting:
• October 26, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: Gabriella Pederson (Chaska, Minn.) made a career-high 10 saves, but the Wildcats' offense proved to be too much, as St. Catherine erupted for four goals in the second half in handing the Cardinals a 5-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in conference action—and back on the road—on Friday, traveling to St. Joseph, Minn., for a 4 p.m. MIAC showdown with Saint Benedict.
• St. Catherine: The Wildcats head to Forest City, Iowa, on Monday for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against Waldorf.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• Saturday's game against St. Catherine is the first of back-to-back road games for the Cardinals, who play three of their next four games away from Ochrymowycz Field—the lone exception, a 7 p.m. home matchup against Gustavus on Oct. 10. … The Cardinals are 3-2-0 on their home field this season, while going 2-3-0 away from Ochrymowycz Field. … Saint Mary's 2-1 loss to Bethel last Wednesday was its fourth straight game decided by one goal—the Cardinals beat UW-River Falls 1-0, while falling to St. Olaf, Augsburg, and Bethel—all by 2-1 counts. … The Cardinals' 1-0 win over UW-River Falls on Sept. 20 was their third overtime game of the season—Saint Mary's dropped 2-1 OT decisions to Ripon and St. Olaf earlier this year. … The Cardinals' win over UWRF also snapped a five-game winless streak (0-4-1) in overtime games. … Saint Mary's 2-0 conference-opening loss to St. Thomas on Sept. 12 snapped the Cardinals' two-game winning streak—while also marking the only time this season Saint Mary's has failed to score at least one goal. … Saint Mary's has surrendered two goals in all five of its losses this season—falling to St. Thomas 2-0, and Ripon, St. Olaf, Augsburg, and Bethel 2-1. … The Cardinals have outscored their first 10 opponents 28-12. … The Cardinals' 28 goals through 10 games are the most since scoring 28 goals for the entire 2014 season. … Erin McElligott (New York City, N.Y.) netted the Cardinals' lone goal against Bethel last Wednesday. … Emily Loof (Colorado Springs, Colo.) had her consecutive-game points streak snapped at three against Bethel. … Natalie Ruegsegger (Billings, Mont.) netted the game-winner in the Cardinals' 1-0 win over UW-River Falls on Sept. 20. It was the sophomore's first collegiate goal. … Saint Mary's now has had nine players net their first collegiate goals this season—Ruegsegger, McElligott, Kendall Archer (Draper, Utah), Anissa Barrios (Gilbert, Ariz.), Marissa Carlyle (San Jose, Calif.), Sarah Egbert (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Mary Loy (Burien, Wash.), Mackenzie Waters (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), and Mary Arnold (Winona, Minn.). … Loof leads the team with six goals, while Becca Dup (Albert Lea, Minn.) and Loy are second with five each. Dup—who notched her team-leading sixth assist against Bethel last Wednesday—also owns the team lead in points (16). … Dup's 16 points are two more than both Loy and Loof. …  Saint Mary's 10-goal outburst in its 10-0 win over Finlandia on Sept. 9 was its highest single-game offensive performance since blanking Northland 10-0 during the 2007 season. … The Cardinals' 10 goals against Finlandia on Sept. 9 came from eight different players—Loy and Dup each scored twice, while Loof, Archer, Egbert, Waters, Barrios, and Marissa Carlyle (San Jose, Calif.) accounted for the others. … Loof recorded her second collegiate hat trick in Saint Mary's 7-1 win over Bethany Lutheran on Sept. 6. Both of Loof's hat tricks have come against Bethany Lutheran, the first coming on Sept. 23, 2014. … The two-goal game by Dup against Finlandia on Sept. 9 was the first of her collegiate career, while Loy has now scored two goals in a game twice this season—having also notched two in her collegiate debut against Lawrence. … Both Dup and Loy picked up a pair of assists in the Cardinals' win over Bethany Lutheran on Sept. 6—it was Dup's second two-assist game of the season and the first of her collegiate career for Loy. … All four goals in the Cardinals' season-opening win over Lawrence were scored by freshmen. Loy scored twice, while Waters and Arnold accounted for the other two. … Loy's goal in the 21^st minute against Lawrence on Sept. 1 was the Cardinals' first goal of the season. … Zoe Boleneus (Spokane, Wash.)—who stopped all five shots she faced against UW-River Falls on Sept. 20 en route to her first collegiate shutout—notched a career-high 11 saves in the Cardinals' 2-1 loss to Augsburg on Sept. 23. … Boleneus' 11 saves are the most by a Cardinal goalkeeper since Gabriela Pederson (Chaska, Minn.) stopped 11 against Carleton in the team's season finale a year ago. … Pederson finished with a season-high 10 saves in the Cardinals' loss to St. Thomas on Sept. 12. The 10 saves marked the ninth time in her collegiate career the sophomore has made eight or more saves—including three 10-save efforts and a career-high 11-save showing against Carleton on Oct. 29. … Pederson boasts a 1.25 goals-against-average and has made 26 saves in six appearances. … Boleneus owns a 1.09 GAA and has stopped 24 of the 29 shots she's faced in her five starts in goal. … With their 7-1 win on Sept. 6, the Cardinals improved to 4-0-0 all-time against Bethany Lutheran—outscoring the Vikings 23-2. … The Cardinals have beaten Bethany Lutheran 7-1 in each of their last two meetings.
 
Scouting The St. Catherine Wildcats:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• With their 3-3 tie against Carleton last Wednesday, the Wildcats moved to 1-0-2 in their last three games. … St. Catherine's game against Carleton last Wednesday marked the third time in four losses that the Wildcats have surrendered three or more goals—SCU gave up a season-high four goals in a 4-0 loss to UW-Whitewater, while allowing three goals against California Lutheran (L, 3-1), Augsburg (L, 3-1), and Carleton (T, 3-3). … St. Catherine's five goals in their last two games—a 2-0 win over Bethel and a 3-3 tie at Carleton—are two more than the three goals the Wildcats scored in their first five games combined. … Kaitlin Machovec and Shannon Hickey head into Saturday's showdown against Saint Mary's sharing the team lead in both goals (2) and points (4). … Iryna Talkachova boasts a team-best two assists. … Machovec owns the Wildcats' lone game-winning goal. … Jessica Perez-Adame and Tayler Koop have shared the goalkeeping duties for the Wildcats this season. Perez-Adame boasts a 1.74 goals-against-average and .741 save percentage in six appearances (361:58 minutes), while Koop has compiled a 2.22 GAA and .692 GAA in five outings (324:59). … Perez-Adame has made a team-leading 20 saves, two more than Koop, while Koop owns the team's lone shutout. … St. Catherine has scored five of its eight goals in the second half. … Last Wednesday's 3-3 deadlock against Carleton marked the third time in seven games that the Wildcats have gone into double overtime. SCU lost 2-1 to LaVerne, while battling Macalester (0-0) and Carleton (3-3) to draws. … St. Catherine is still looking for its first road win of the season. SCU is 1-1-2 on its home field, while going 0-3-1 away from St. Catherine Field.