By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain Hamline in a 1 p.m. showdown at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-7-0 MIAC, 5-8-0 Overall) vs. Hamline Pipers (1-6-0 MIAC, 4-8-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 9, 2018 * St. Peter, Minn.: The Cardinals surrendered a pair of second-half goals, as Gustavus dealt Saint Mary's a 2-0 conference setback at the Gustie Soccer Field | Recap
• Hamline—October 9, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: Bethel scored single goals in each half, as the Royals dealt the Pipers their second straight shutout loss, a 2-0 conference decision at Paterson Field | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline—A Year Ago:
• October 14, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals and Pipers combined for six goals—including five in the first half—but it was the Hamline offense that proved the most explosive, as HU erupted for four goals in dealing Saint Mary's a 4-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Paterson Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Wednesday, returning home to Ochrymowycz Field for a 7 p.m. matchup against Carleton.
• Hamline: The Pipers hit the road again on Sunday, traveling to Duluth, Minn., for a 1 p.m. nonconference game against St. Scholastica.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Hamline is the first of back-to-back home games for the Cardinals, who play three of their final five games on their home turf. … Tuesday's 2-0 loss to Gustavus was just the third time this season the Cardinals have failed to score at least one goal. … Saint Mary's 3-2 double-overtime loss to St. Catherine on Sept. 29 marked the first time this season the Cardinals did not win when scoring two or more goals. … The Cardinals have allowed one goal or less in all five of their victories this season — and in each of their 10 wins over the past two seasons. On the flip side, Saint Mary's has surrendered three goals or more in six of its eight losses. … Maura Michener (Winona, Minn.) scored her team-leading seventh goal of the season in the Cardinals' 3-1 loss to Saint Benedict last Saturday. … Michener— who recorded one goal in her first two seasons combined as a Cardinal — heads into Tuesday's showdown against Gustavus leading the team with 14 points. … Kassie Arriaga (Chula Vista, Calif.) and Mary Loy (Burien, Wash.) are second to Michener in both goals (5) and points (12), while Arriaga and Loy share the team lead in assists (2) with Becca Dup (Albert Lea, Minn.). … Arriaga owns the Cardinals' two penalty kick goals this season. … Loy posted her first collegiate two-goal game against Lawrence on Sept. 2. … Dup picked up a goal and an assist against Coe on Sept. 9 for her first multiple-point game this season. … With her second-half tally against UW-River Falls on Sept. 19, Loy now owns three of the Cardinals' five game-winning goals this season, with Michener and Dup accounting for the other two. … Nete Storm Pedersen (Copenhagen, Denmark) scored the Cardinals' goal in their 3-1 loss to Bethel on Sept. 26. It was Storm Pedersen's first collegiate tally. … Storm Pedersen is the fourth Cardinal to net career goal No. 1 this season. Arriaga and Melina Rodriguez (Des Moines, Iowa) netted their first collegiate goals vs. Martin Luther on Aug. 31, while Megan Kowalis (Castle Rock, Colo.) scored her first two collegiate goals against Lawrence two days later. … Gabriella Pederson (Chaska, Minn.), who has started all 13 games in goal for the Cardinals, equaled her single-season career high with 11 saves against St. Catherine on Sept. 29. … Pederson needed to make just one save combined in recording back-to-back shutouts against Martin Luther and Lawrence to open the season. … With her two shutouts this season, Pederson owns six career shutouts—two in each of the last three seasons. … Pederson heads into Saturday's showdown against Hamline owning a 2.21 goals-against-average and a .685 save percentage. … Pederson has made 63 saves this season — including eight against Gustavus on Tuesday. … Saint Mary's did not allow a single shot attempt in its 7-0 win over Lawrence on Sept. 2. … The Cardinals' seven goals against Lawrence on Sept. 2 were not only a season high, but also the most since scoring 10 in a 10-0 rout of Finlandia on Sept. 9, 2017. … Saint Mary's has scored 18 of its 24 goals in the second half — including six of seven against Lawrence on Sept. 2. … With their win over Coe on Sept. 9, Saint Mary's improved to 4-1-0—equaling its five-game start of a year ago. … The Cardinals' 2-0 loss to No. 22 Loras on Sept. 8 snapped their season-opening three-game winning streak. … The Cardinals' 4-0 win over Martin Luther on Aug. 31 marked the second straight year in which Saint Mary's opened the year with a victory—and the second straight year in which SMU kicked off the year with a 4-0 triumph. Saint Mary's beat Lawrence to open the 2017 campaign.
 
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 play four of their final five games away from Paterson Field. … Tuesday's loss to Bethel was Hamline's second straight shutout loss. The Pipers have now been shut out in each of their last six losses. On the flip side, three of the Pipers' four wins have also been shutouts — the lone exception, a 2-1 win over Macalester on Sept. 11. … Clara Gregory has scored a team-leading four goals, while also leading the team in points with nine. … Kaelin O'Fallon is the team's assist leader with three, one more than both Gaby Diaz and Jenna Sampson. … HU's 18 goals this season have come from nine different players. Along with Gregory's team-leading four goals, Ashlee Olson and Siri Parker have each scored three, with Diaz (2), Jensen Severning (2), O'Fallon (1), Sampson (1), Jackie Stubbs (1), and Brenna Dolney (1) accounting for the others. … Hamline's four game-winning goals have come from four different players — Gregory, Olson, O'Fallon, and Stubbs. … Dani Wright has started 11 of the team's 13 games in goal, compiling a 1.94 goals-against-average and an .804 save percentage. … Wright has made 86 saves this season and owns a pair of shutouts. … Melanie Hopkins has appeared in four games between the pipes — including two starts — and boasts a 1.23 GAA and .867 save percentage. … Lauren Secora has also seen action in goal for Hamline, stopping two of the three shots she's faced (1.00 GAA, .667 save percentage). … Hamline scored a season-high eight goals — including seven in the second half — in an 8-0 win over UM-Morris on Sept. 4. It was the third-highest offensive performance in program history. … Hamline has allowed three of more goals in a game five times. … HU has played three overtime games this season — beating Macalester (2-1 in 2 OTs), falling to UW-River Falls (3-2 in OT), and tying Cal Lutheran (0-0). … Three of Hamline's four wins this season have come on the road. The Pipers are 1-4-1 at home, while going 3-4-0 away from Paterson Field.