By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's soccer team kicks off its 2018 season with a busy opening weekend, as the Cardinals entertain North Central (Minn.) in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at Ochrymowycz Field on Friday, before heading to New Ulm, Minn., for a 3 p.m. nonconference contest against Martin Luther the following day.
 
The Matchups:
Friday, August 31, 2018 * Winona, Minn. * 7 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2017 Final Record: 8-9-1 Overall) vs. North Central Rams (2017 Final Record: 5-7-4 Overall)
Saturday, September 1, 2018 * New Ulm, Minn. * 3 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2017 Final Record: 8-9-1 Overall) at Martin Luther Knights (2017 Final Record: 6-12-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• North Central: Live Stats * Live Video * GameDay Program
• Martin Luther: Live Stats

Last Action:
• This weekend's games are the season-openers for the Cardinals, Rams, and Knights.
 
Saint Mary's vs. North Central—Their Last Meeting:
• September 4, 2014 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's scored three first-half goals—including the first just a minute into the opening half—as the Cardinals cruised to a 4-0 nonconference victory over North Central at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Martin Luther—Their Last Meeting:
• September 1, 2016 * New Ulm, Minn.: The Cardinal offense netted a pair of first-half goals, and the Saint Mary's defense limited Martin Luther to just five shots on goal—all stopped by goalkeepers Albert Centeno (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) and Nate Levy (Byron, Minn.). And thanks to that lethal 1-2 combination, Watkins and the Cardinals were able to celebrate a season-opening 2-0 nonconference victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: Following this weekend's games against North Central and Martin Luther, the Cardinals are back on the road on Tuesday, heading to St. Bonifacius, Minn., for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against Crown.
• North Central: The Rams are right back in action on Saturday, traveling to St. Bonifacius, Minn., for a 2:15 p.m. nonconference game against Crown.
• Martin Luther: The Knights are back in action on Wednesday, traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a 4:30 p.m. nonconference game against Gustavus.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Cardinals boasted five players who earned MIAC post-season honors in 2017—Charles Reit (Arcadia, Wis.) was a First-Team All-MIAC pick, while Nate Levy (Byron, Minn.), Sean Butcher (Cave Creek, Ariz.), Chris Beiersdorf (Arlington Heights, Ill.), and Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.) were honorable-mention picks. … The Cardinals' eight wins last season equaled their win total of a year ago, and were again the most since Saint Mary's went 8-8-2 during the 2002 campaign. … Sean Butcher (Cave Creek, Ariz.)—who played in all 72 games during his four-year career—closed out the 2017 season as the team-leader in goals (7) and points (18), while finishing second in assists with four. … Butcher's seven goals—a single-season career-high, and one more than his first three years combined—were the most by a Cardinal since Mike Schmitt netted nine during the 2006 season. … Butcher recorded at least one point in eight of the Cardinals' 17 games last season—including his first collegiate two-goal game against Crown and his first two-assist contest against Viterbo. … Charles Reit (Arcadia, Wis.), who put together the team's longest consecutive-game point streak last season—scoring in four straight games and adding an assist in the fifth—netted his first collegiate goal with a first-half tally against Viterbo on Sept. 6. … Kyle Lichttenegger (DePere, Wis.) notched his first two-goal game in a Cardinal uniform vs. Crown on Sept. 1. … The two goals by both Butcher and Lichttenegger vs. Crown on Sept. 1 marked the first time a Cardinal had netted two goals in a game since 2015, when Saint Mary's had three players score twice in a game. … Saint Mary's had not had two players post multiple-goal games in the same contest since Matt Graber, Nate Vandegrift, and Midhat Mujic all scored twice against Presentation on Sept. 1, 2013. … Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.) scored a goal and picked up an assist against UW-Superior on Oct. 8, giving the Cardinal his first collegiate multiple-point game. … Nate Levy (Byron, Minn.) and Alberto Centeno (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) shared the goalkeeping duties last season. Levy finished the year 4-7-1 with a 1.39 goals-against-average, while Centeno—who posted a season-high six saves against North Park on Sept. 17—was 4-2-0 with a 2.16 GAA. … Levy picked up his second shutout of the season—and seventh of his four-year collegiate career—with a 12-save effort against Carleton on Oct. 24. … Levy's 12 saves against the Knights were one shy of his career high—a 13-save effort against those same Knights in 2016. … Levy closed out his career with five games of 10 or more saves. … Levy and Jimmy Perreault (Batavia, Ill.) did not have to make a save in shutting out Crown on Sept. 1. Perreault also teamed with Centeno in posting the shutout against UM-Morris on Oct. 1. … Ten of the Cardinals' 18 games last season were decided by one goal or less. … Four of the Cardinals' nine losses were decided by a score of 2-1. All told, six of Saint Mary's 18 games in 2017 were decided by 2-1 decisions. … All eight of the Cardinals' last year wins came on their home turf. Saint Mary's finished 8-4-0 at home, while going 0-5-1 away from Ochrymowycz Field. … The Cardinals played three overtime games last season, dropping 2-1 decisions to both St. Olaf and Illinois Institute of Technology, while tying Carleton 0-0. … The Cardinals' 0-0 tie vs. Carleton on Oct. 24 was their first scoreless deadlock since battling Bethel and Gustavus to scoreless draws in back-to-back games during the 2015 season. … The Cardinals' 2-0 win over Gustavus on Oct. 11 put an end to a 31-game winless streak against the Gusties. Saint Mary's, which had gone 0-26-5 in its last 31 meetings with GAC, had not beaten the Gusties since a 3-0 home win during the 1985 season. … Saint Mary's win over Gustavus on Oct. 11 was just the third victory over the Gusties in program history (3-38-11)—the Cardinals beat GAC 3-1 in 1984 and 3-0 in 1985. … The Cardinals' 2-1 win over Bethel on Sept. 26 snapped their season-high five-game losing streak—not to mention an eight-game conference winless streak (0-7-1), dating back to a 2-0 win over Concordia on Oct. 1, 2016. … Saint Mary's 0-0 tie against Carleton marked the second straight year the two teams played into double overtime—the Cardinals fell to the Knights 2-1 on a PK two minutes into the second overtime in 2016. … Saint Mary's 2-1 loss to St. Olaf on Sept. 16 marked the second straight year in which the Oles beat the Cardinals in overtime—owning a 1-0 overtime win in 2016. … Saint Mary's 2-1 loss to St. Thomas on Sept. 12 snapped the Cardinals' season-opening four-game winning streak. … The Cardinals had started the season 4-0-0 for the first time since opening the 1986 season with four straight wins. It was also the Cardinals' first four-game winning streak since early in the 2000 season. … With their 6-0 win over Crown on Sept. 1, the Cardinals have posted three wins in which they did not allow a shot on goal over the past two seasons. Saint Mary's did not allow a shot on goal in a pair of 3-0 wins in 2016—first against Bethany Lutheran on Sept. 7 and then against UM-Morris on Oct. 26. … All six of Saint Mary's goals against Crown on Sept. 1 came in the second half. … Saint Mary's scored 14 goals in the first half and 14 in the second. The Cardinals' opponents, meanwhile, netted 12 goals in the first half and 18 goals after halftime—14 in the second half, and solo goals in the first and second overtimes. … The Cardinals finished 6-2 outside MIAC play last season. … With their 6-0 win over Crown on Sept. 1, the Cardinals have now won their season opener in each of the last three seasons. … Saint Mary's six goals against Crown on Sept. 1 were the most since the Cardinals netted seven in a 7-0 win over Cornell on Sept. 4, 2015. … Saint Mary's victory over Crown on Sept. 1 was the first collegiate coaching win for the Cardinals' Corbin Bowers.
 
Scouting The North Central Rams:
2018 Roster | 2017 Final Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• The Rams enter 2018 on the heels of a 5-7-4 overall record a year ago, including a 2-6-4 showing in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play. … The Rams return a pair of All-UMAC honorees from a year ago. Josue Boutouli was a First-Team selection, while Danny Williams was a honorable-mention pick. … Boutouli was the team's offensive leader, boasting team-highs in both goals (11) and points (22). … Boutouli's 11 goals accounted for almost half of the Rams' offensive output from a year ago. Kaleb Smith chipped in five goals and Williams added two while Austin Healy, Ian Brekhus, Jake Loukinen, Dennis Morales, and Chris Parker all scored once. … Smith recorded two of the Rams' three assists a year ago, and finished second to Boutouli with 12 points. … Boutouli attempted all six of North Central's penalty kicks last season, converting four of them. … Gabe Hartwig started 15 of the team's 16 games in goal, compiling a 2.15 goals-against-average and a .716 save percentage. … Hartwig, who recorded three shutouts, finished the year with 83 saves. … Parker appeared in two games in goal—including one start—finished with a 3.18 GAA and .688 save percentage, making 11 saves on the 16 shots he faced. … As a team, North Central scored 17 goals in its six wins, while managing just five goals in its seven losses. … The Rams played four overtime games last season—with all four ending draws. North Central tied Northwestern (1-1, 2-2), Crown (1-1), and Bethany Lutheran (2-2).
 
Scouting The Martin Luther Knights:
2018 Roster | 2017 Final Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• The Knights enter the 2018 season on the heels of a 6-12-1 season a year ago, including a 5-6-1 mark in UMAC play. … The Knights reached the UMAC Tournament quarterfinals a year ago, falling to UM-Morris 1-0 in double overtime. … Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of three straight games against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foes for MLC, which opened the season Friday against St. Olaf and faces Gustavus on Wednesday. … Joseph Graumann closed out the season as the team's offensive leader in goals with eight and points with 18. It was the second straight season Graumann—a second-team All-UMAC selection—has been the team's goal-scoring leader. … Luke Melhack also closed out the season in double figures in points with 13 (6 G, 1 A). … Melhack finished with a team-leading two game-winning goals, with Graumann, Joel Koelpin, Nathan Graumann, and Josh Koelpin accounting for the other four. … Martin Luther was just 1-for-6 on penalty kicks, with Graumann scoring the lone goal. … Caleb King started 18 of the team's 19 games in goal, compiling a 2.36 goals-against-average and a .683 save percentage. King posted two shutouts—a seven-save effort in a 2-0 win over North Central on Sept. 19 and a one-save showing in blanking Bethany Lutheran 1-0 on Oct. 25. … Eleven of Martin Luther's 19 games last season were decided by one goal or less—including four of its six wins. … MLC surrendered six or more goals in a game three times a year ago—falling to UW-Superior twice (7-0 and 6-1), while dropping a 6-0 decision against Augsburg. On the flip side, the Knights netted a season-high three goals twice—beating Crown (3-1) and Northland (3-2) in back-to-back games in mid-September.