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 play host to St. Thomas in a 7:30 p.m. matchup at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-4-0 MIAC, 5-5-0 Overall) vs. St. Thomas Tommies (4-0-0 MIAC, 8-1-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 29, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals rallied from a goal down twice in the second half, but St. Catherine broke a 2-2 deadlock 59 seconds into the second overtime, leading the Wildcats to a 3-2 victory at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
• St. Thomas—September 29, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Tommies kept their conference slate clean — winning for the fourth time in as many MIAC games — getting a pair of first-half goals en route to a 3-0 win over Macalester at South Field | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas—A Year Ago:
• September 12, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: Saint Mary's entered its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener against St. Thomas having scored 24 goals in its first five games of the season. The defending conference champion Tommies, however, wouldn't let the Cardinals' high-octane offense get shifted out of neutral. St. Thomas held Saint Mary's to just one shot on goal—and no goals—in dealing the Cardinals a 2-0 setback at South Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Saturday, returning home to Ochrymowycz Field for a 1 p.m. matchup against Saint Benedict.
• St. Thomas: The Tommies hit the road once again on Saturday, heading to Northfield, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference showdown against Carleton.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against St. Thomas is the second straight home game — and the fourth home contest in the last five games for the Cardinals. … Last Saturday's 3-2 double-overtime loss to St. Catherine 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. … Maura Michener (Winona, Minn.) — who recorded one goal in her first two seasons as a Cardinal — scored her team-leading sixth goal of the season and Maddy Wallraff (Blaine, Minn.) netted her first of the season to account for the Cardinals' two goals against St. Catherine last Saturday. … Along with her six goals, Michener also leads the team with 12 points. … Mary Loy (Burien, Wash.) is second to Michener in both goals (5) and points (11), while Kassie Arriaga (Chula Vista, Calif.) and Becca Dup (Albert Lea, Minn.) share the team lead with two assists each. … Arriaga is third on the team with four goals — including back-to-back penalty kick goals against UW-Stout and Coe. …  Loy posted her first collegiate two-goal game against Lawrence on Sept. 2. … Becca Dup (Albert Lea, Minn.) picked up a goal and an assist against Coe on Sept. 9 for his 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 last Wednesday's 3-1 loss to Bethel. 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 10 games in goal for the Cardinals, equaled her single-season career high with 11 saves against St. Catherine last Saturday. … 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 Wednesday's showdown against St. Thomas owning a 2.08 goals-against-average and a .712 save percentage. … Pederson has stopped 52 of the 73 shots she's faced this season. … The Cardinals hold a 151-140 advantage in shots attempted through 10 games — including a 79-73 edge in shots on goal. … 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 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 16 of its 22 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 St. Thomas Tommies:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of three straight road games for the Tommies, who are 4-1 away from South Field this season. … The Tommies enter Wednesday's showdown against Saint Mary's ranked No. 17 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll. … With their win over Macalester last Saturday, the Tommies extended their winning streak to eight straight. After opening the season with a 2-0 loss to Wheaton (Ill.), St. Thomas has rattled off eight consecutive wins — outscoring its opponents 29-2 during that eight-game stretch. … St. Thomas has recorded six shutout wins this season, with the other two victories coming via 2-1 counts. … Both of the Tommies' 2-1 victories were decided in overtime — UST beat Saint Benedict 2-1 in double-overtime on Sept. 15, and edged Gustavus 2-1 in OT a week later. … Mallory DeBoom has been the Tommies' offensive leader, boasting team-highs in goals (6) and points (16). … Kate Heimer and Brie Bourdage share the team lead in assists with six each, while both are second to DeBoom with 10 points. … St. Thomas' 29 goals this season have come from 15 different players, while 18 Tommies have recorded at least one point. … Heimer and Bourdage share the team lead with two game-winning goals each. … Olivia Elvidge and Sarah Pasternak have shared the goalkeeping duties for the Tommies, with Elvidge posting a 0.51 goals-against-average and .875 save percentage in six starts, while Pasternak boasts a 0.29 GAA and .750 save percentage in three starts. … Elvidge has made a team-high 21 saves. … The Tommies have scored 14 goals in the first half, while adding 15 after halftime. On the flip side, UST's opponents have scored all four of their goals in the first half.