By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Macalester Stadium for a 1 p.m. showdown with Macalester.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-7-0 MIAC, 6-8-0 Overall) at Macalester Scots (0-5-3 MIAC, 3-7-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 17, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals got a goal from Mary Loy (Burien, Wash.) three minutes into the second overtime, lifting Saint Mary's to a 3-2, double-overtime conference win over Carleton at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
• Macalester—October 13, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: Bethel erupted for three second-half goals in dealing the Scots a 4-0 conference setback Macalester Stadium | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester—A Year Ago:
• October 21, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: For the third time in their five OT games, it was the Cardinals who suffered the agony of defeat, as Macalester scored the game-winning goal with 1:38 remaining in the second extra period to lift the Scots to a 2-1 victory at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action on Wednesday, stepping out of conference play for the final this time season, as Saint Mary's entertains Ripon in a 6:30 p.m. nonconference game at Ochrymowycz Field.
• Macalester: The Scots take to the road on Wednesday, heading to St. Joseph, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. showdown against Saint Benedict.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Cardinals head into Saturday's matchup against Macalester having won back-to-back conference games. … Wednesday's game against Carleton was the second of back-to-back home games for the Cardinals, who close out the year playing two of their final three regular-season contests on the road — the lone exception, next Wednesday's nonconference matchup against Ripon. … The Cardinals' 3-2 win snapped a streak of 16 straight wins in which Saint Mary's held its opponent to one goal or less. … The Cardinals have now played two overtime games this season — with both decided by a 3-2 decision. Saint Mary's lost to St. Catherine 3-2 in 2 OTs on Sept. 29, while beating Carleton 3-2 on Wednesday. … Maura Michener (Winona, Minn.) ­— coming off her first collegiate two-goal game in Saint Mary's 4-0 win over Hamline last Saturday — scored her team-leading 10^th goal against Carleton Wednesday. Melina Rodriguez (Des Moines, Iowa) and Mary Loy (Burien, Wash.) netted the Cardinals' other two goals — Loy's coming three minutes into the second overtime. … Loy's sixth goal of the season in the 103^rd minute vs. Carleton Wednesday was her team-leading fourth game-winning goal of the season. … Michener, who assisted on Rodriguez's first-half goal against Carleton Wednesday, has now posted three goals and two assists in Saint Mary's last two games. … Michener— who recorded one goal in her first two seasons combined as a Cardinal — heads into Saturday's showdown at Macalester leading the team with 22 points. … Loy is second to Michener in both goals (6) and points (14), while Michener, Loy, Rodriguez, Kassie Arriaga (Chula Vista, Calif.), Becca Dup (Albert Lea, Minn.), Maddy Wallraff (Blaine, Minn.), and Kendall Archer (Draper, Utah) all share the team lead in assists with two each. … 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. … 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 Rodriguez 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 15 games in goal for the Cardinals, needed to make just one save against Hamline on Oct. 13 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. … Pederson equaled her single-season career high with 11 saves against St. Catherine on Sept. 29. … Pederson heads into Saturday's showdown at Macalester owning a 2.03 goals-against-average and a .693 save percentage. … Pederson has made 70 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 21 of its 31 goals in the second half — including six of seven against Lawrence on Sept. 2. … 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. …  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 Macalester Scots:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the third straight home game for the Scots, who play two of their final three regular-season games at Macalester Stadium. … The Scots' 4-0 loss to Bethel last Saturday was the sixth straight game decided by a shutout. Macalester has beaten St. Scholastica (1-0) and UW-Superior (1-0), while losing St. Thomas (3-0), Augsburg (1-0), and Bethel (4-0), and tying St. Olaf (0-0) during that six-game span. … All three of Macalester's wins this season have been by one goal — 2-1 vs. Luther, and 1-0 against both St. Scholastica and UW-Superior. … Yukeria Haywood leads the Scots in both goals (3) and points (6). … Haywood is the only Scot with more than one goal — Alice Bieda, Kate Bond, Carolyn Ecksetin, Elizabeth Han, and Maggie Bunker have all scored once. … Macalester's four assists this season have come from four different players — Bieda, Bond, Molly Adams, and Georgia Kazemi. … Haywood has scored two of the team's three game-winning goals, with Bunker accounting for the other. … Macalester has used three different goalkeepers through the first 13 games of the season. Kayla Togneri has started six games, compiling a 1.22 goals-against-average and .774 save percentage, while Kate Lawhead owns a 1.58 GAA and .750 save percentage in four starts, and Anya Lindell Paulson carries a 3.19 GAA and .619 save percentage in three starts. … Togneri has made a team-leading 24 saves, three more than Lawhead. … Togneri also owns all three of the Scots' shutouts this season. … Macalester has played three overtime games this season — with all three ending in ties — 1-1 vs. St. Catherine, 1-1 vs. Concordia, and 0-0 vs. St. Olaf. … Two of Macalester's three wins have come on their home field — the Scots are 2-2-3 at home, while going 1-5-0 away from Macalester Stadium.