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 Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Carleton in a 6:30 p.m. showdown at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-7-0 MIAC, 6-8-0 Overall) vs. Carleton Knights (2-3-3 MIAC, 5-4-4 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 13, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals erupted for three first-half goals — including two from Maura Michener (Winona, Minn.) en route to a 4-0 victory over Hamline at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
• Carleton—October 13, 2018 * Northfield, Minn.: Augsburg scored a pair of second-half goals, breaking a 0-0 deadlock and leading the Auggies to a 2-0 MIAC win over the Knights at Bell Field | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Carleton—A Year Ago:
• October 25, 2017 * Northfield, Minn.: The Knights scored just 19 minutes into the opening half, and never let the Cardinals get their offense on track, as Carleton dealt Saint Mary's a 2-0 setback at Bell Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Saturday, traveling to Macalester Stadium in St. Paul, Minn., for a 1 p.m. matchup against the Scots.
• Carleton: The Knights hit the road again on Saturday, traveling to Bethel's Ona Orth Athletic Complex in Arden Hills, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference matchup against the Royals.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Carleton is the second of back-to-back home games for the Cardinals. … With their 4-0 win over Hamline last Saturday, the Cardinals snapped their season-high six-game losing streak. … The Cardinals have allowed one goal or less in all six of their victories this season — and in each of their 11 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. … Saint Mary's 2-0 loss to Gustavus on Oct. 9 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. … Maura Michener (Winona, Minn.) scored her team-leading eighth and ninth goals of the season in the Cardinals' 4-0 win over Hamline last Saturday. … Michener's two-goal effort against Hamline last Saturday was her first collegiate two-goal performance. … Michener— who recorded one goal in her first two seasons combined as a Cardinal — heads into Wednesday's showdown against Carleton leading the team with 19 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. … Loy owns three of the Cardinals' six game-winning goals this season — one more than Michener. … 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 14 games in goal for the Cardinals, needed to make just one save against Hamline last Saturday in recording her third shutout of the season — and seventh of her collegiate career. … Pederson has had to make just two saves — combined — in her three shutouts this season. Along with her one-save effort against Hamline, the junior made one save in blanking Martin Luther on Aug. 31 and did not have to make a stop two days later in shutting out Lawrence two days later.  and Lawrence to open the season. … Pederson equaled her single-season career high with 11 saves against St. Catherine on Sept. 29. … Pederson heads into Wednesday's showdown against Carleton owning a 2.05 goals-against-average and a .688 save percentage. … Pederson has made 64 saves this season. … 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 19 of its 28 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 Carleton Knights:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of three straight road games for the Knights, who are 2-2-4 away from Bell Field this season. … With their 2-0 loss to Augsburg on Saturday, the Knights saw their losing streak reach three and their winless streak climb to four (0-3-1). … Carleton has been shut out in each of its three games during its current slide, falling to St. Thomas (1-0), St. Olaf (2-0), and Augsburg (2-0). … After opening the season 4-0-1, the Knights are 1-4-1 in their last six. … Ten of Carleton's 13 games have been decided by shutout. … Nora Mertz heads into Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's as the team-leader in goals (5) and points (10). … Annika Martensson, Hannah Hemmerly, and Mackenzie Korpi are second to Mertz with two goals each. … Martensson, Hemmerly , and Emma Wasend are all second to Mertz in points with five each. … Mertz has netted two of the Knights' five game-winning goals, with Hemmerly, Libby Franchot, and Ruby Kazemi accounting for the other three. … Anna Roethler has started 12 of the team's 13 games in goal, compiling a 0.67 goals-against-average and a .906 save percentage. … Roethler has stopped 77 of the 85 shots she's faced. … Roethler's .906 save percentage is tops in the MIAC, while her 77 saves rank No. 2. … Carleton has outscored its opponents 15-9 through 13 games — including 7-1 in the first half. … The Knights have played five overtime games this season — with four ending in ties. Carleton beat Grinnell (1-0), while tying MIT (1-1), Gustavus (0-0), St. Catherine (0-0), and Concordia (1-1).