WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer team kicks off the home portion of its 2017 schedule on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Bethany Lutheran in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-1-0 Overall) vs. Bethany Lutheran Vikings (0-1-0 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 3, 2017 * Ripon, Wis.: For the second game in a row, Saint Mary's got on the board first in its nonconference game against Ripon. Unlike last Friday's season-opening, 4-0 victory over Lawrence, however, the Cardinals weren't able to make that lead stand up, as Ripon scored the game's final two goals—including the game-winner in overtime—as the Red Hawks dealt Saint Mary's a 2-1 setback | Recap
• Bethany Lutheran—September 1, 2017 * Mankato, Minn.: Buena Vista broke a 1-1 tie with a goal in the 87^th minute, as the Beavers dealt the Vikings a 2-1 season-opening setback | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethany Lutheran—Their Last Meeting:
• September 23, 2014 * Mankato, Minn.: Emily Loof (Colorado Springs, Colo.) scored her team-leading sixth and seventh goals as part of a three-goal first half—then completed her first collegiate hat trick 10 minutes into the second half—as the Cardinals picked up their third win of the season, dropping Bethany Lutheran 7-1 | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action this weekend, hosting the M Club Weekend/BIG Athletics Tournament. Saint Mary's will face Finlandia at 2 p.m. on Sept. 9, before squaring off against either Nebraska Wesleyan or Martin Luther the following day at 4 p.m.
• Bethany Lutheran: The Vikings are back on their home field on Saturday, entertaining Wisconsin Lutheran in a 2 p.m. nonconference game.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Cardinals head into Wednesday's nonconference game with a perfect 3-0-0 all-time record against Bethany Lutheran—outscoring the Vikings 16-1, including their most recent meeting, a 7-1 Saint Mary's win in 2014. … 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.), who recorded her first collegiate two-assist game against the Vikings last Friday—assisting on both of Loy's goals—netted the Cardinals' lone goal in their 2-1 overtime loss to Ripon last Sunday. … Loy's goal in the 21^st minute against Lawrence last Friday 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, while Zoe Boleneus (Spokane, Wash.) made her first collegiate start in the Cardinals' OT loss to Ripon last Sunday, recording three saves. … 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 had started 17 straight games in goal for the Cardinals prior to Boleneus' start against Ripon. … Saint Mary's scored twice in each half against Lawrence last Friday, while netting its lone goal against Ripon in the second half. A year ago, Saint Mary's scored 12 of its 19  goals in the second half. … With their 2-1 loss to Ripon last Sunday, the Cardinals slipped to 0-3-1 in their last four overtime games.
 
Scouting The Bethany Lutheran Vikings:
2017 Roster | 2017 Statistics | 2017 Schedule
• The Vikings are coming off a 10-10-2 season that included a 4-3-1 showing in UMAC play, earning BLC a berth in the conference playoffs. Bethany Lutheran opened with a 2-1 win over Northwestern in the opening round, before falling to top-seeded Northland 2-1 in overtime in the semifinals. … In the past seven seasons, the Vikings have played seven  UMAC postseason contests—with six of those seven going into overtime or a shootout. … Nicole Moldstad returns for her senior season, after recording 30 points—11 goals and eight assists—en route to her third straight All-UMAC Second Team selection. … Moldstad—the career leader in points (93), while sitting second in career goals (32) and assists (29)—scored the Vikings' lone goal in last Friday's 2-1 loss to Buena Vista. … Rachel Bitter returns as the Vikings' leading scorer, having netted a program-record 19 goals, while adding a pair of assists for a school-record 40 points during her freshman campaign a year ago. … Bitter and Moldstad accounted for 30 of the team's 40 goals last season, as well as 70 of the Vikings' 112 points. … Averi Cash—who made 10 saves in last Friday's loss to Buena Vista—returns in goal after an honorable-mention All-UMAC season a year ago, when she compiled a 1.38 goals-against-average and an .856 save percentage. … Cash was in goal for five of the team's eight shutouts a year ago, and led the squad with 119 saves. … BLC played eight overtime games a year ago, going 2-4-2 in those contests. The Vikings beat Martin Luther (1-0), Northwestern (2-1); lost to Bethel (2-1), UM-Morris (2-1), and Northland twice (1-0 and 2-1); and tied Buena Vista (2-2) and UM-Morris (0-0). … Last Friday's 2-1 loss to Buena Vista was the Vikings' fourth straight game decided by one goal, having closed out the 2016 season sandwiching 2-1 losses to Crown and Northland around a 2-1 win over Northwestern.  … Thirteen of BLU's last 23 games have been decided by one goal or less.