By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain Augsburg in a 1 p.m. showdown at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1-0 MIAC, 5-2-0 Overall) vs. Augsburg Auggies (1-1-0 MIAC, 3-4-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 19, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Maura Michener (Winona, Minn.) and Mary Loy (Burien, Wash.) scored second-half goals in leading the Cardinals to a 2-1 nonconference win over UW-River Falls at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
• Augsburg—September 19, 2018 * Minneapolis, Minn.: Wartburg scored twice in a four-minute span midway through the first half, as the Knights dealt the Auggies a 3-1 nonconference setback at Edor Nelson Field | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg—A Year Ago:
• September 23, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn.: Ashley St. Aubin scored her conference-leading ninth and 10^th goals of the season three minutes apart late in the first half, and the Auggies held off a late Cardinal charge in handing Saint Mary's a 2-1 MIAC setback at Edor Nelson Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Wednesday, traveling to Bethel's Ona Orth Athletic Complex in Arden Hills, Minn., for a 4 p.m. matchup against the Royals.
• Augsburg: The Auggies return home to Edor Nelson Field on Wednesday, as Augsburg plays host to Saint Benedict in a 7:30 p.m. conference game.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Augsburg is the second straight home game for the Cardinals, who play three of their next four contests on their home turf. … With their 2-1 win over UW-River Falls Wednesday, the Cardinals have now allowed one goal or less in all five of their victories this season — and in each of their 10 wins over the past two seasons. … Maura Michener (Winona, Minn.) and Mary Loy (Burien, Wash.) each scored their team-leading fifth goals of the season against UW-River Falls Tuesday. … Michener, who scored in each of the team's first three games, has now scored a goal in back-to-back games. … Kassie Arriaga (Chula Vista, Calif.) is second to Michener and Loy with four goals — including back-to-back penalty kick goals against UW-Stout and Coe. … Arriaga and Melina Rodriguez (Des Moines, Iowa) netted their first collegiate goals vs. Martin Luther on Aug. 31, while Megan Kowalis (Castle Rock, Colo.) scored her first two collegiate goals against Lawrence two days later. … Loy posted her first collegiate two-goal game against Lawrence on Sept. 2. … Becca Dup (Albert Lea, Minn.) picked up a goal and an assist against Coe on Sept. 9 for his first multiple-point game this season. … Arriaga and Dup share the team lead in assists with two, while six other Cardinals own one assist through seven games. … With her second-half tally against UW-River Falls on Wednesday, Loy now owns three of the Cardinals' five game-winning goals this season, with Michener and Dup accounting for the other two. … Gabriella Pederson (Chaska, Minn.), who has started all seven games in goal for the Cardinals, finished with five saves in Wednesday's 2-1 win over UW-River Falls. … Pederson, who needed to make just one save combined in recording back-to-back shutouts against Martin Luther and Lawrence to open the season, stopped a season-high nine shots against No. 22 Loras on Sept. 8. … With her two shutouts this season, Pederson owns six career shutouts—two in each of the last three seasons. … Pederson heads into Saturday's showdown against Augsburg owning a 1.29 goals-against-average and a .750 save percentage. … Pederson has stopped 27 of the 36 shots she's faced this season. … The Cardinals hold a 128-75 advantage in shots attempted through seven games—including a 70-36 edge in shots on goal. … Saint Mary's did not allow a single shot attempt in its 7-0 win over Lawrence on Sept. 2. … The Cardinals' seven goals against Lawrence were not only a season high, but also the most since scoring 10 in a 10-0 rout of Finlandia on Sept. 9, 2017. … Saint Mary's has scored 14 of its 19 goals in the second half — including six of seven against Lawrence on Sept. 2. … Saint Mary's has surrendered just two second-half goals this season. … With their win over Coe on Sept. 9, Saint Mary's improved to 4-1-0—equaling its five-game start of a year ago. … The Cardinals' 2-0 loss to No. 22 Loras on Sept. 8 snapped their season-opening three-game winning streak. … The Cardinals' 4-0 win over Martin Luther on Aug. 31 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.
 
Scouting The Augsburg Auggies:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Saturday's game at Saint Mary's begins a stretch in which the Auggies play four of their next five games on the road. Augsburg has played five of its first seven contests on its home turf. … Conference scoring leader Ashley St. Aubin scored the Auggies' lone goal against Wartburg Wednesday. … St. Aubin heads into Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's leading the team — and the conference — in goals (7) and points (15). … St. Aubin has now accounted for seven of the Auggies' nine goals this season — Jessy Wiskofske and Gabriela Encarnacion have netted Augsburg's other two goals. … Wiskofske and Encarnacion share the team lead in assists with two each. … With her goal against Wartburg, St. Aubin moved into second place on Augsburg's all-time career goal scoring list with 39 career goals. She now trails only OIivia Muyres, who scored a school-record 46 goals in her career. Her 90 career points (39 goals, 12 assists) put her fourth in school history, with Muyres holding the school record with 119 (46 goals, 27 assists). … Wednesday's loss to Wartburg snapped a 27-game unbeaten streak (26-0-1) when St. Aubin scores a goal. … Emily Chapman has started all seven games in goal for the Auggies, compiling a 1.14 goals-against-average and an .852 save percentage. … Chapman ha stopped 36 of the 54 shots she's faced and owns a pair of shutouts. … Chapman made a season-high 11 saves in the Auggies' 2-0 loss to Washington (Mo.) University on Sept. 2, while adding eight-save efforts vs. Cal Lutheran and St. Catherine. … Augsburg has scored five of its nine goals in the first half. … The Auggies have played one overtime game this season — beating Bethel 2-1 on Sept. 15. … Augsburg has been held to one goal or less in all four of its losses — including being shut out three times. On the flip side, the Auggies have scored two or more goals in each of its three wins — highlighted by a pair of 3-0 victories over St. Scholastica and UW-Eau Claire.