By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's soccer team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain Saint John's in a 3:30 p.m. matchup at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-3-0 MIAC, 4-6-1 Overall) vs. Saint John's Johnnies (3-2-0 MIAC, 6-2-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 3, 2018 * Waukesha, Wis.: The Cardinals' Charles Reit (Arcadia, Wis.) scored early in the first half, and Carroll tallied its only goal early in the second, as the two teams battled to a 1-1, double-overtime tie | Recap
• Saint John's—October 2, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Johnnies surrendered a pair of first-half goals — both on free kicks —and could not recover in dropping a 2-1 conference decision to St. Thomas | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint John's—Their Last Meeting:
• October 6, 2017 * Collegeville, Minn.: Saint John's erupted for three goals in the game's first 11 minutes and never looked back in handing Saint Mary's a 4-1 conference setback at Haws Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to conference play on Wednesday, heading to St. Peter, Minn., for a 4 p.m. showdown with Gustavus.
• Saint John's: The Johnnies are right back on the road on Sunday, traveling to Morris, Minn., for a 3 p.m. nonconference matchup against UM-Morris.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Wednesday's nonconference showdown against Carroll was the Cardinals third straight road game. Saint Mary's will play three of their next four contests on their home turf, beginning Saturday against Saint John's. … Wednesday's 1-1 tie against Carroll marked the fourth time in the last five games that the Cardinals have gone into overtime. Saint Mary's dropped a 1-0 double-overtime decision to Loras and a 2-1 OT heartbreaker vs. Augsburg, before beating Bethel 3-2 in overtime on Sept. 25. … Saint Mary's last five games have all been decided by one goal or less — along with the four overtime contests, the Cardinals dropped a 4-3 decision to UW-Superior last Sunday. … Saint Mary's three goals in last Sunday's 4-3 loss to UW-Superior were the most in a loss since the Cardinals netted three in a 4-3 overtime loss to St. Thomas on Sept. 12, 2012. … Charles Reit (Arcadia, Wis.) scored the Cardinals' lone goal in Wednesday's 1-1 tie with Carroll — it was his third tally of the season. … Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wis.) leads the team with four goals, one more than Reit, and two more than Lichttenegger, Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.), and Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.). … The Cardinals have had 10 different players score goals this season. Along with Balsiger (4), Sobczak (2), Reit (2), 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 last Sunday's 4-3 loss to UW-Superior; 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 … With his goal against Carroll Wednesday, Reit moved into a tie with Balsiger for the team lead in points with eight. … Szymanski owns a team-high three assists, with Reit, Mateo Means (Dallas, Texas) and Wally Barros (Santa Maria da Boa Vista, Brazil) sitting second with two assists each. … Alberto Centeno (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) 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's 18 saves against Loras were just two shy of the 20 saves he had made in his previous six games combined. … Centeno owns a 2.01 goals-against-average and a .754 save percentage in nine starts this season. … Michael Maniak (Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) made his second start of the season Wednesday against Carroll, stopping five of the Pioneers' six shots. … Maniak boasts a 1.38 GAA and a .733 save percentage. … As a team, the Cardinals have scored three or more goals in all four of their 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 has scored eight goals in the first half and 11 goals after the break. On the flip side, the Cardinals' opponents have scored nine first-half goals and 12 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 Saint John's Johnnies:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the third straight road game — and the third of five road contests in a six-game span — for the Johnnies. … With Tuesday's 2-1 loss to St. Thomas, both of the Johnnies' losses this season have been by one goal. SJU also dropped a 1-0 decision to Augsburg on Sept. 25. … Saint John's had its season-opening six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) snapped with its 1-0 loss to Augsburg on Sept. 25. … Four of Saint John's nine games this season have gone into overtime — including each of their first three games of the season. SJU opened the year with a 0-0 tie against Knox, before beating both Jamestown and UW-Whitewater 3-2 in OT. SJU's other overtime game was a 1-0 win over St. Olaf on Sept. 22. … The Johnnies have scored three goals in four of their six wins this season — beating Jamestown (3-2), UW-Whitewater (3-2), and Concordia (3-0). … Ben Becker heads into Saturday's game against Saint Mary's as the Johnnies' leader in goals (4) and points (9). … Thomas Bell has recorded a team-best three assists. … Guy Mohs is second in all three offensive categories — goals (3), assists (2), and points (8). … Saint John's 16 goals this season have come from 10 different players, while 16 Johnnies have recorded at least one point. … Payton Spencer and Nicholas French have shared the goalkeeping duties for the Johnnies. Spencer has compiled a 0.19 goals-against-average and .875 save percentage in five starts, while French owns a 1.44 GAA and .727 save percentage in four starts. … French has made a team-high 16 saves. … Spencer has recorded shutouts in four of his five starts. … The Johnnies have been outscored 6-4 in the game's opening 45 minutes, but hold a 12-1 scoring advantage after halftime. … Both of Saint John's losses this season have come on the road — SJU is a unbeaten (4-0-1) on their home field, while going 2-2-0 on the road.