By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer team kicks off its 2018 home season on Sunday, as the Cardinals entertain Lawrence in a 2 p.m. nonconference game at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0-0 Overall) vs. Lawrence Vikings (0-1-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—August 31, 2018 * New Ulm, Minn.: The Cardinals erupted for three, second-half goals, as Saint Mary's opened its 2018 season with a 4-0 win over Martin Luther | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Lawrence—Their Last Meeting:
• September 1, 2017 * Appleton, Wis.: Mary Loy (Burien, Wash.) and Becca Dup (Albert Lea, Minn.) proved to be a fairly lethal one-two combination, as Loy scored her first two collegiate goals—both off assists from Dup—while fellow freshmen Mackenzie Waters (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and Mary Arnold (Winona, Minn.) also found the back of the net for the first time in a Cardinal uniform as Saint Mary's blanked Lawrence 4-0 | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Wednesday, heading to Menomonie, Wis., for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against UW-Stout.
• Lawrence: The Vikings are back in action—and back on the road—on Wednesday, when they travel to Fond du Lac, Wis., for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against Marian.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• The Cardinals' 4-0 win over Martin Luther 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. … Melina Rodriguez and Kassie Arriaga—each making their collegiate debut—both collected three points against Martin Luther Friday. … Along with goals from Rodriguez and Arriaga—their first in a Cardinal uniform—Maura Michener (Winona, Minn.) and Mary Loy also found the back of the net vs. Martin Luther Friday. … Michener finished with a team-high 11 shots against the Knights Friday. … Gabriella Pederson (Chaska, Minn.) needed to make just one save to record the shutout vs. Martin Luther Friday. Pederson's shut out was the fifth of her collegiate career. … Saint Mary's held a 43-2 advantage in total shots against Martin Luther Friday—including a 17-1 edge in shots on goal. … 
 
Scouting The Lawrence Vikings:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• The Vikings head into their season-opening weekend's games against UW-Stevens Point and Saint Mary's on the heels of a 2-16-0 overall showing a year ago. … The Vikings enter 2018 without the services of graduated senior Ryan Berkley, who accounted for eight of the team's 11 goals a year ago. … Along with her eight goals, Berkley also boasted a pair of assists en route to her team-leading 18 points. … Amy Courter, Chloe Gierymski, and Kelli Quick scored Lawrence's other three goals in 2017. … Danielle Dixon closed out her sophomore campaign a year ago with a team-high three assists. … Katlyn Seiffert started 17 of the team's 18 games in goal, compiling a 5.54 goals-against-average and a .631 save percentage. … Seiffert stopped 161 of the 255 shots she faced last season and posted a pair of shutouts. … Both of Lawrence's wins in 2017 were via shutout—a 1-0 victory over Lakeland and a 5-0 win against Rockford. … The Vikings' five goals in their win over Rockford on Sept. 7 were not only a season-high, but also accounted for nearly half of their 11 total goals last season. … Lawrence was held to one goal or less in all 16 losses last season. … The Vikings surrendered a season-high 10 goals in a 10-0 loss to Knox on Sept. 23. … Lawrence, which dropped the last six games of the season a year ago, finished the year 2-7-0 at home, while going 0-9-0 on the road.