By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
NEW ULM, Minn. — It took the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer team a while to shake off the preseason rust, but once they did, the Cardinal offense was unstoppable.
 
Clinging to a 1-0 lead at halftime—despite outshooting host Martin Luther 7-1 over the game's opening 45 minutes—the Cardinals erupted for three goals in a 12-minute span early in the second half en route to a season-opening 4-0 nonconference win over the Knights.
 
Mary Loy (Burien, Wash.) opened the scoring for the Cardinals, netting the season's first goal off a Kassie Arriaga (Chula Vista, Calif.) corner kick in the 31^st minute.
 
That would be the only scoring of the opening half — but after the halftime intermission, the Cardinals turned up the heat.
 
In a big, big way.
 
Maura Michener (Winona, Minn.) pushed the Saint Mary's lead to 2-0 in the 63^rd minute, and, less than five minutes later, Arriaga found the back of the net for the first time as a Cardinal to push the lead to 3-0.
 
Melina Rodriguez (Des Moines, Iowa) rounded out the second-half onslaught, getting into the first-career-goal action with her first in a Saint Mary's uniform in the 75^th minute.
 
The Cardinals' stifling defense made life easy for goalkeeper Gabriella Pederson (Chaska, Minn.), who needed to make just one first-half save in recording the shutout.
 
Saint Mary's (1-0-0 overall)—winners of its season opener for the second straight season—are back in action on Sunday, hosting Lawrence in a 2 p.m. nonconference game at Ochrymowycz Field.