By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's soccer team closes out the home portion of its schedule on Tuesday, hosting Carleton in a 7 p.m. conference matchup at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-6-0 MIAC, 5-10-1 Overall) vs. Carleton Knights (5-1-2 MIAC, 12-1-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program | Senior Salute
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 20, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: Macalester erupted for three second-half goals, as the Scots dealt the Cardinals a 4-0 conference setback at Macalester Stadium | Recap
• Carleton—October 20, 2018 * Arden Hills, Minn.: The Knights locked up an MIAC Playoff berth, rallying from an early 1-0 deficit to beat Bethel 2-1 at Ona Orth Athletic Complex | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Carleton — Their Last Meeting:
• October 24, 2017 * Northfield, Minn.: For the second year in a row, the Cardinals and Knights battled into a second overtime in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at Bell Field. Unlike a year ago, however—when Carleton scored on a penalty kick in the second minute of the second overtime en route to a 2-1 victory—this time around, the Cardinals were able to come away with a conference point, as the two teams battled to a 0-0 tie | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals close out their regular-season schedule on Saturday, traveling to Moorhead, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. conference contest against Concordia.
• Carleton: The Knights put an end to the 2018 regular season on their home turf on Saturday, returning to Bell Field in Northfield, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. MIAC matchup against Saint John's.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Tuesday's game against Carleton is the final home game of the season for the Cardinals — and the final collegiate game for Cardinal seniors Chris Beiersdorf (Arlington Heights, Ill.), Daniel Nolte (Owatonna, Minn.), and Alberto Centeno (Elk Grove Village, Ill.). … Last Wednesday's game against Simpson was the final nonconference game of the season for the Cardinals, who finished 3-4-1 out of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play this season. … The Cardinals' 1-0 loss to Simpson last Wednesday marked seventh time in the last 10 games that the game was decided by one goal — including four that went into overtime. … Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wis.) leads the team in goals with six. … Balsiger's six goals — a single-season career-high — are three more than Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.) and Charles Reit (Arcadia, Wis.), and four in front of Kyle Lichttenegger (De Pere, Wis.) and Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.). … The Cardinals have had 10 different players score goals this season. Along with Balsiger (6), Sobczak (3), Reit (3), 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 six goals, Balsiger also boasts a team-best 13 points, five more than Reit. … Szymanski and Nahorski share the team lead in assists with three. … Alberto Centeno (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) needed to make just one save in the Cardinals' 1-0 win over Hamline on Oct. 13 en route to his first collegiate shutout. … Centeno 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 owns a 2.18 goals-against-average and a .722 save percentage in 12 starts this season. … Centeno's 65 saves this season rank second among MIAC goalkeepers. … Jimmy Perreault (Batavia, Ill.) stopped both Simpson shots he faced in the first half of Wednesday's 1-0 loss to the Storm, while Michael Maniak (Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) made seven saves over the game's final 45 minutes. … Maniak boasts a 1.47 GAA and a .783 save percentage, while Perreault boasts a 1.80 GAA and .667 save percentage. … As a team, the Cardinals have scored three or more goals in four of their five 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 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. … Saint Mary's has scored 10 goals in the first half and 12 goals after the break. On the flip side, the Cardinals' opponents have scored 14 first-half goals and 19 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 Carleton Knights:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of back-to-back road contests for the Knights, who are 7-1-0 away from home this season. … With their 2-1 come-from-behind win over Bethel last Saturday, the Knights locked up an MIAC Playoff berth — marking the 12^th straight season in which Carleton has earned a spot in the conference tournament. … With their 2-1 win over Bethel, Carleton also extended its unbeaten streak to 11 straight (9-0-2). The Knights' last loss was a 2-0 decision to Gustavus on Sept. 12. … Bethel's goal in the fourth minute last Saturday snapped the Knights' shutout streak at 557 minutes — dating back to a Concordia goal in the sixth minute of Carleton's 3-1 win over the Cobbers on Sept. 29. … Carleton has allowed just seven goals all season — two against Gustavus (L, 2-0) and one vs. North Central (W, 2-1), Macalester (T, 1-1), St. Scholastica (W, 2-1), Concordia (W, 4-1), and Bethel (W, 2-1). … Marco da Cunha enters Tuesday's showdown at Saint Mary's leading the team in both goals (8) and points (17). Mark Roth owns a team-high six assists and is second to Da Cunha in both goals (4) and points (14). … Da Cunha and Roth share the team lead with three game-winning goals each, one more than both Alvin Bierley and Spencer Weeden. … Carleton has attempted four penalty kicks this season, going 2-for-4. Adam Pearson owns both Knight PK goals. … Aaron Forman has started 14 of the Knights' 15 games in goal, compiling a 0.50 goals-against-average and an .811 save percentage. … Forman has stopped 30 of the 37 shots he's faced and owns six shutouts. … Forman's 0.50 goals-against-average is tops in the MIAC. … The Knights have outscored their opponents 38-7 — including 22-2 afar halftime. … Carleton has played four overtime games this season — beating UM-Morris (1-0) and St. Scholastica (2-1), and tying Macalester (0-0) and Augsburg (0-0).