By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's soccer team returns to conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals host Augsburg in a 3:30 p.m. matchup at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-2-0 MIAC, 3-4-0 Overall) vs. Augsburg Auggies (1-0-0 MIAC, 4-1-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 19, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Albert Centeno (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) stopped a career-high 18 shots, but it was not enough, as Loras scored 1:49 into the second overtime period, lifting the Duhawks to a 1-0 nonconference win over Saint Mary's at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
• Augsburg—September 18, 2018 * Minneapolis: The Auggies erupted for seven second-half goals en route to a 7-1, conference-opening win over Bethel at Edor Nelson Field | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg—Their Last Meeting:
• September 22, 2017 • Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg scored the game's only goal on a penalty kick in the 11^th minute, as the Auggies dealt the Cardinals a 1-0 conference setback at Edor Nelson Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Tuesday, traveling to Bethel's Ona Orth Athletic Complex for a 4 p.m. conference matchup against the Royals.
• Augsburg: The Auggies return home to Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis, Minn., on Tuesday, entertaining Saint John's in a 7:30 p.m. MIAC showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• After back-to-back home games against Loras and Augsburg, the Cardinals will play their next three contests on the road. … Wednesday's 1-0 loss to Loras was the Cardinals' first overtime game of the season — and the first game that went into a second OT since tying Carleton 0-0 on Oct. 24, 2017. … 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 Wednesday's 1-0 loss to Loras. … 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 on Wednesday against Loras were just two shy of the 20 saves he had made in his previous six games combined. … Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.) scored his first goal of the season to account for the Cardinals' lone tally in last Saturday's 4-1 loss to St. Olaf. … Sobczak became the eighth different player to score for the Cardinals this season. … Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) and Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.) share the team lead with two goals each, while Sobczak, Johnluke Nahorski (Minnetonka, Minn.), Charles Reit (Arcadia, Wis.), Kyle Lichttenegger (De Pere, Wis.), Chris Beiersdorf (Arlington Heights, Ill.), and Klaus Friedli (Marshfield, Wis.) own Saint Mary's other six goals. … Szymanski and Nahorski scored 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 … Szymanski heads into Saturday's showdown against Augsburg 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. … Centeno owns a 2.05 goals-against-average and a .770 save percentage in six starts this season. … 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 five goals in the first half, while netting six goals after the break. On the flip side, the Cardinals' opponents have scored four first-half goals and eight 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 Augsburg Auggies:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• With Wednesday's win over Bethel, the Auggies have now won four of their first five games this season — the lone blemish, a 4-1 loss to UW-Superior on Sept. 11. … Wednesday's seven-goal outburst against Bethel marked the second time this season the Auggies have scored seven goals in a goal — Augsburg also found the back of the net seven times against Crown in a 7-0 win over Sept. 6. … Augsburg's seven goals Wednesday also marked the most scored by the Auggies in an MIAC game since beating Bethel 7-1 on Sept. 14, 2011. … Augsburg's seven goals on Wednesday against Bethel came from six different players — James Gagnon scored twice, while Abdullah Alshayba, Daniel Hedstrom, Nick Zuchowski, Ethan Poppen, and Emmanuel Egbujor accounted for the other five. … Johnny Vu and Antonio Magadan both picked up a pair of assists vs. the Royals. … The goals by Hedstrom and Zuchowski against the Royals Wednesday were their team-leading fourth of the season. Gagnon and Egbujor, meanwhile, have each scored twice this season. … Zuchowski and Egbujor share the team lead in assists with three, while Zuchowski boasts a team-high 11 points, three more than Hedstrom, and four in front of Egbujor. … Augsburg's four-game winning goals this season have come from four different players — Hedstrom, Poppen, Taylor Sullivan, and Kouseng Yang. … Augsburg has used three different goalkeepers this season, led by Zachary Berg, who has played 208 minutes, compiling a 1.73 goals-against-average and .733 save percentage. Garrett Kaelin owns a 1.26 GAA and .714 save percentage in 142 minutes of work, while Ethan Derks has not allowed a goal and has stopped all three shots he's faced in nearly 99 minutes of relief action. … Thanks in large part to Wednesday's second-half outburst, the Auggies have scored 13 of their 18 goals in the second half. Augsburg's opponents, meanwhile, have netted four first-half goals, and two after the break.