By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — Getting the lead was not an issue for the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer team Wednesday evening — keeping that lead, however, was another story.
 
Until it mattered most.
 
The Cardinals, who could not hold on to leads of 1-0 and 2-1, got a goal from Mary Loy (Burien, Wash.) three minutes into the second overtime, as the Cardinals picked up their second straight Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory — beating Carleton 3-2 at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
Melina Rodriguez (Des Moines, Iowa) gave the Cardinals an early — very early — 1-0 advantage, scoring just seven minutes into the opening half. The Cardinal freshman took a feed from Maura Michener (Winona, Minn.) and slipped a shot through the hands of Carleton goalkeeper Anna Roethler and into the net.
 
Saint Mary's would cling to that one-goal cushion over the remainder of the first half and through the first 10 minutes of the second half — when Carleton pulled even on Nora Mertz's sixth goal of the season.
 
The deadlock lasted just 49 second, however, as Michener lofted a picture-perfect shot over Roethler's head on a direct kick from 30 yards out to give the Cardinals their second lead of the game, 2-1.
 
Carleton would answer again — this time nine minutes after Michener's team-leading 10^th goal of the season — as Emma Wasend beat Cardinal goalkeeper Gabriella Pederson (Chaska, Minn.) to make it 2-2.
 
And the game would remain tied until the three-minute mark of the second overtime, when Loy picked up a loose ball in front of the Knight goal and fired a shot past Roethler for her team-leading fourth game-winning goal of the season.
 
Pederson finished with six saves in goal for the Cardinals, while Roethler made four saves in goal for the Knights.
 
The Cardinals (2-7-0 MIAC, 7-8-0 overall) return to conference play on Saturday, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., for a 1 p.m. contest against Macalester.