By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's soccer team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, traveling to St. Olaf's Rolf Melby Field for a 1 p.m. showdown against the Oles.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1-0 MIAC, 3-2-0 Overall) at St. Olaf Oles (1-0-0 MIAC, 2-3-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 12, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals surrendered a pair of first-half goals — one in the 12^th minute and the other with 13 seconds remaining — and could not recover in falling to #4 St. Thomas 2-0 in the teams' MIAC opener at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
• St. Olaf—September 12, 2018 * Arden Hills, Minn.: The Oles got first-half goals from Will Douglas and Thierno Gueye en route to a conference-opening 2-0 win over Bethel at Ona Orth Complex | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf—Their Last Meeting:
• September 16, 2017 • Winona, Minn.: St. Olaf scored the game's final two goals—one with six minutes remaining in regulation and the game-winner five minutes into overtime—as the Oles dealt the Cardinals a 2-1 setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return home to Ochrymowycz Field on Wednesday, playing host to Loras in a 7:30 p.m. nonconference game.
• St. Olaf: The Oles step out of conference play on Wednesday, traveling to Waverly, Iowa, for a 7 p.m. matchup against Wartburg.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Saturday's game at St. Olaf marks the fourth time in the last five contests that the Cardinals have played on the road. … After opening the season with three straight wins, the Cardinals' loss to No. 4 St. Thomas Wednesday was its second straight setback. … Alberto Centeno (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) made a season-high seven saves in Wednesday's conference-opening loss to No. 4 St. Thomas. Centeno had made eight saves in his previous three starts combined. … Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) and Johnluke Nahorski (Minnetonka, Minn.) scored their first collegiate goals in Saint Mary's season-opening 3-1 win over North Central on Aug. 31, while Klaus Friedli (Marshfield, Wis.) tallied his first goal in a Cardinal uniform in Saint Mary's 4-1 victory over Crown on Sept. 4. … Szymanski, who also scored one of Saint Mary's three goals against Martin Luther on Sept. 1, picked up his first collegiate two-assist game against Crown on Sept. 4 and has now recorded at least one point in three of SMU's four games this season. … Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.), Chris Beiersdorf (Arlington Heights, Ill.), and Kyle Lichttenegger (De Pere, Wis.) joined Friedli as goal-scorers against Crown on Sept. Sept. 4. … Szymanski heads into Saturday's showdown at St. Olaf leading the team in assists (3) and points (7), while sharing the team lead in goals (2) with Balsiger. … Mateo Means (Dallas, Texas) and Wally Barros (Santa Maria da Boa Vista, Brazil) sit second to Szymanski with two assists each. …  Michael Maniak (Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) has stopped all five shots he's faced in goal this season—making three saves against Martin Luther on Sept. 1 and stopping both shots he faced in relief of Centeno against Crown on Sept. 4. … As a team, the Cardinals have scored three or more goals in all three of their wins this season — netting three goals in wins over Martin Luther (3-1) and North Central (3-0), and tallying a season-high four goals in beating Crown 4-1. … Saint Mary's has scored four goals in the first half, while netting six goals after the break. On the flip side, the Cardinals' opponents have scored three first-half goals and four goals after halftime. … The Cardinals hold a 35-27 advantage in shots on goal through five games. … 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 St. Olaf Oles:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the Oles' first home game since opening the season against Martin Luther on their home turf on Aug. 31. St. Olaf will play seven of its first nine games away from Rolf Melby Field. … Wednesday's 2-0 win over Bethel snapped the Oles' three-game losing streak. … St. Olaf's win over Bethel marked the first time this season the outcome was not decided by one goal. … St. Olaf has scored two goals in each of its wins — beating Martin Luther 2-1 and Bethel 2-0 — while being held to one goal in all three of its losses, falling to Northwestern (2-1), Luther (2-1), and Loras (1-0). … Thierno Gueye and Will Douglas — who each scored against Bethel on Wednesday — share the team lead in goals with two. Farid Sani and Jacob Stauffer have netted St. Olaf's other two goals this season. … OIlaf Morkeberg owns a team-best two assists, one more than Sani, Keith Loukas, and Sam Heupel, while Gueye and Douglas share the team lead in points with four. … Ben Westermeyer has started four of the Oles' five games in goal, compiling a 1.00 goals-against-average and an .857 save percentage. … Westermeyer has stopped 24 of the 28 shots he's faced, and owns the team's lone shutout — stopping all five shots in blanking Bethel 2-0 Wednesday. … St. Olaf has scored four of its six goals in the second half, while the Oles' opponents have netted three goals in each half.