By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. — After scoring three goals in back-to-back season-opening wins over North Central and Martin Luther, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's soccer team took its offensive game up a notch Tuesday evening against Crown.
 
In fact, the Cardinals equaled their three-goal efforts in their first two games—before the game was even 39 minutes old—as Saint Mary's rolled to a 4-1 nonconference win over the Storm.
 
The Cardinals and Storm both struck in the game's fourth minute, with Saint Mar's Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.) netting his second of the year off an assist from Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) at 4:08, only to have Crown answer 48 seconds later.
 
Saint Mary's regained the lead—for good—in the ninth minute on a goal by Chris Beiersdorf (Arlington Heights, Ill.) and Kyle Lichttenegger (De Pere, Wis.) made it 3-1 less than eight minutes before the halftime break.
 
The Cardinals picked up right where they left off after the break, as Klaus Friedli (Marshfield, Wis.) took a page out of Balsiger's playbook, scoring his first of the season just three minutes into the second half.
 
Alberto Centeno (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) picked up his second win in goal, stopping one of the two shots he faced in 64 minutes of work, while Michael Maniak (Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) made a pair of saves in relief. The Cardinals, meanwhile, peppered Crown goalkeeper Eli Etzel with 10 shots.
 
The Cardinals (3-0-0 overall) will put their three-game winning streak on the line on Saturday, as they travel to Pella, Iowa, for a 5 p.m. nonconference game against Central-Iowa.