By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's soccer team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals play host to Hamline in a 3:30 p.m. match at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-4-0 MIAC, 4-7-1 Overall) vs. Hamline Pipers (2-3-1 MIAC, 5-4-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program

Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 6, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Saint John's scored a pair of goals less than a minute apart late in the second half, breaking a 1-1 deadlock and sending the Johnnies to a 3-1 conference win over the Cardinals at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
• Hamline—October 10, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: Bethel scored a pair of second-half goals, breaking a 1-1 tie and leading the Royals to a 3-1 MIAC victory over the Pipers at Paterson Field | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline—Their Last Meeting:
• October 14, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: Saint Mary's surrendered back-to-back goals early in the second half and never recovered, falling to the Pipers 2-0 at Paterson Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to conference play on Monday, traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a 4 p.m. matchup against Gustavus.
• Hamline: The Pipers are back on the road on Wednesday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 4 p.m. conference showdown against Carleton.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Hamline is the second straight home game for the Cardinals, who play three of their final six games on their home turf. … Last Saturday's 3-1 loss to Saint John's snapped the Cardinals' streak of five straight games decided by one goal or less. … Four of Saint Mary's last six games have gone into overtime — Saint Mary's dropped a 1-0 double-overtime decision to Loras and a 2-1 OT heartbreaker vs. Augsburg, before beating Bethel 3-2 in overtime on Sept. 25 and tying Carroll 1-1 on Oct. 3. … Saint Mary's three goals in its 4-3 loss to UW-Superior on Sept. 30 were the most in a loss since the Cardinals netted three in a 4-3 overtime loss to St. Thomas on Sept. 12, 2012. … Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wis.) scored his team-leading fifth goal in the Cardinals' 3-1 loss to Saint John's last Saturday. … Balsiger's five goals — a single-season career-high — are two more than Charles Reit, and three in front of Kyle Lichttenegger (De Pere, Wis.), Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.), and Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.). … The Cardinals have had 10 different players score goals this season. Along with Balsiger (5), Sobczak (2), Reit (2), Lichttenegger (2), and Szymanski (2), the Cardinals' other six goals have come from Cole Van Houten (Pine Island, Minn.), R.J. Vazquez (Antioch, Ill.), Johnluke Nahorski (Minnetonka, Minn.), Chris Beiersdorf (Arlington Heights, Ill.), and Klaus Friedli (Marshfield, Wis.). … Saint Mary's boasts five players who have recorded their first collegiate goals this season. Van Houten and Vazquez scored their first collegiate goals in the Cardinals' 4-3 loss to UW-Superior on Sept. 30; Szymanski and Nahorski netted their first collegiate goals in Saint Mary's season-opening 3-1 win over North Central on Aug. 31, while Friedli tallied his first goal in a Cardinal uniform in Saint Mary's 4-1 victory over Crown on Sept. 4. … Szymanski picked up his first collegiate two-assist game against Crown on Sept. 4 … Along with his team-leading five goals, Balsiger also boasts a team-best 10 points, two more than Reit. … Szymanski owns a team-high three assists, with Reit, Mateo Means (Dallas, Texas) and Wally Barros (Santa Maria da Boa Vista, Brazil) sitting second with two assists each. … Alberto Centeno (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) stopped a career-high 18 shots — eight in the first half, eight in the second half, and two in the first overtime — in the Cardinals' 1-0 loss to Loras on Sept. 19. … Centeno's 18-save effort was the most in a single game since Jon Szafranski stopped 18 against Viterbo on Sept. 23, 2009. … Centeno's 18 saves against Loras were just two shy of the 20 saves he had made in his previous six games combined. … Centeno owns a 2.01 goals-against-average and a .754 save percentage in nine starts this season. … Michael Maniak (Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) made his second start of the season last Wednesday against Carroll, stopping five of the Pioneers' six shots. … Jimmy Perreault (Batavia, Ill.) made his first start of the season against Saint John's last Saturday, finishing with four saves. … Maniak boasts a 1.38 GAA and a .733 save percentage, while Perreault boasts a 2.58 GAA and .571 save percentage. … As a team, the Cardinals have scored three or more goals in all four of their wins this season — netting three goals in wins over Martin Luther (3-1), North Central (3-0), and Bethel (3-2), while tallying a season-high four goals in beating Crown 4-1. … Saint Mary's has scored nine goals in the first half and 11 goals after the break. On the flip side, the Cardinals' opponents have scored 10 first-half goals and 14 goals after halftime. … With their 3-1 win over North Central on Aug. 31, the Cardinals have now won their season-opener in each of their last four seasons. … The Cardinals have now started the season 4-0-0 and 3-1-0 in their last two seasons.
 
Scouting The Hamline Pipers:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Saturday's game at Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back road games for the Pipers, who are 2-1-0 in their three road contests this season. Hamline plays three of its final four games away from Paterson Field, beginning Saturday against Saint Mary's. … With Wednesday's 3-1 loss to Bethel, the Pipers are now 2-2-1 in their last five contests. … Hamline has now allowed three goals or more in both of its last two losses — the Pipers dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to St. Thomas on Sept. 25, before falling to Bethel 3-1 on Wednesday. … Stefan Kinsinger scored the Pipers' lone goal in Wednesday's loss to Bethel. The goal was Kinsinger's fifth of the season — moving him into a tie for the team lead with Adam King. … King also leads the team in both assists (5) and points (15). … Logan Weller is second to King and Kinsinger with three goals, while Jack Reddan is second in assists with four. … King and Kinsinger have accounted for 10 of the team's 18 goals, with Logan Weller (3), Seif El-fatairy (2), Ryan Pyle (1), Ben Sorenson (1), and Trevor Lewellen (1) accounting for the other eight. … King owns three of the Pipers' five game-winning goals. … Dean Isaacson has appeared in all 10 games in goal for the Pipers — including nine starts — compiling a 1.18 goals-against-average and an .804 save percentage. … Isaacson has recorded 45 saves and owns both of the team's shutouts. … Hamline scored a season-high six goals in a 6-1 win over Northwestern (Minn.) on Sept. 6. … HU opened the year on a season-high three-game winning streak — beating Wartburg (1-0), Pacific (Ore.) (3-1), and Northwestern (6-1). … Hamline has lost back-to-back games just once this season, falling to UW-Platteville (1-0) and Macalester (2-0 in a four-day span in early September.