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 play host to St. Catherine in a 1 p.m. matchup at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-3-0 MIAC, 5-4-0 Overall) vs. St. Catherine Wildcats (1-1-2 MIAC, 3-2-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—September 26, 2018 * Arden Hills, Minn.: The Cardinals scored first — getting a goal from Nete Storm Pedersen (Copenhagen, Denmark) in the game's ninth minute — but Bethel responded with three unanswered goals in dealing Saint Mary's a 3-1 conference setback at Ona Orth Athletic Complex | Recap
• St. Catherine—September 26, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: Goalkeeper Tayler Koop stopped all eight shots she faced, as the Wildcats battled Carleton to a 0-0, double-overtime tie | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine—A Year Ago:
• September 30, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: St. Catherine took advantage of a Saint Mary's own goal—as well as a goal that caromed in off a Cardinal player—in the second half, as the Wildcats scored three unanswered goals to deal SMU a 3-1 conference setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Wednesday, returning home to Ochrymowycz Field for a 7:30 p.m. matchup against St. Thomas.
• St. Catherine: The Wildcats are now off until next Saturday, when they return home to St. Paul, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference contest against Concordia.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Saturday's game against St. Catherine is the third home game in the last four contests for the Cardinals. … With their 2-1 win over UW-River Falls on Sept. 19, 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. … Nete Storm Pedersen (Copenhagen, Denmark) scored the Cardinals' goal in Wednesday's 3-1 loss to Bethel. It was Storm Pedersen's first collegiate tally. … Storm Pedersen is the fourth Cardinal to net career goal No. 1 this season. Kassie Arriaga (Chula Vista, Calif.) 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. … Maura Michener (Winona, Minn.) and Mary Loy (Burien, Wash.) each scored their team-leading fifth goals of the season against UW-River Falls on Sept. 19. … Arriaga is second to Michener and Loy with four goals — including back-to-back penalty kick goals against UW-Stout and Coe. …  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 nine games. … With her second-half tally against UW-River Falls on Sept. 19, 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 nine games in goal for the Cardinals, equaled her season-high with nine saves against Augsburg last Saturday. The junior goalkeeper also made nine saves against No. 22 Loras on Sept. 8. … Pederson needed to make just one save combined in recording back-to-back shutouts against Martin Luther and Lawrence to open the season. … With her two shutouts this season, Pederson owns six career shutouts—two in each of the last three seasons. … Pederson heads into Wednesday's showdown at Bethel owning a 2.00 goals-against-average and a .695 save percentage. … Pederson has stopped 41 of the 59 shots she's faced this season. … The Cardinals hold a 142-120 advantage in shots attempted through nine games — including a 76-59 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 20 goals in the second half — including six of seven against Lawrence on Sept. 2. … 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 St. Catherine Wildcats:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• Saturday's game at Saint Mary's is the fourth road game in the Wildcats' last five contests — the lone home affair was Wednesday's 0-0 double-overtime tie against Carleton. … St. Catherine snapped a two-game losing streak with its 0-0 tie against Carleton Wednesday, but the Wildcats' winless streak stretched to four (0-2-2) — SCU's last win was a 1-0 win over Augsburg on Sept. 11. … St. Catherine opened the season with three straight wins — outscoring its opponents 13-0 — but have since managed just two goals in their last four games, including back-to-back shutouts against Bethel (L, 4-0) and Carleton (T, 0-0). … Lauren Witte enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's as the team-leader in both goals (5) and points (10). … Allie Bird owns a team-high five assists and is second to Witte with nine points. … The Wildcats' 15 goals this season have come from nine different players — Witte (5), Bird (2), Sofia Camobell (2), Kaitlin Machovec (1), Molly Hayes (1), Irvna Talkachova (1), Brittany Kollman (1), Marisssa Janssen (1), and Dana Lehtinen (1). … Witte, Macovec, and Talkachova have netted the Wildcats' three game-winning goals. … Tayler Koop has played every minute of the Wildcats' seven games in goal this season, compiling a 0.94 goals-against-average and a .788 save percentage. … Koop owns four shutouts and has stopped 26 of the 33 shots she's faced this season. … St. Catherine is unbeaten (2-0-1) on its hoe field, while going 1-2-1 on the road this season.