By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's soccer team returns to conference play on Tuesday, as the Cardinals head to St. Olaf's Rolf Melby Field for a 4 p.m. MIAC matchup against the Oles.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-1-0 MIAC, 4-4-0 Overall) at St. Olaf Oles (1-2-0 MIAC, 5-4-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's­­—September 28, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) scored the game-winning goal in the third minute of overtime, as the Cardinals dropped Augsburg 4-3 at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
• St. Olaf—September 28, 2019 * St. Paul, Minn.: St. Thomas scored three goals in each half, as the Tommies handed the Oles a 6-1 conference setback at UST's South Field | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf — Their Last Meeting:
• September 15, 2018 * Northfield, Minn.: St. Olaf scored three goals in a 20-minute span — including back-to-back goals three minutes apart — erasing a 1-1 deadlock and leading the Oles to a 4-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over the Cardinals at Rolf Melby Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return home to Ochrymowycz Field on Saturday, playing host to Saint John's in a 1 p.m. MIAC contest.
• St. Olaf: The Oles hit the road on Saturday, traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference showdown against Gustavus.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Tuesday's game against St. Olaf is the Cardinals' fourth road game in the last five contests — the lone exception, last Saturday's 4-3 overtime win over Augsburg. … The Cardinals' 4-3 win over Augsburg not only snapped their two-game losing streak, but was also Saint Mary's first victory over the Auggies since Oct. 15, 2005 — a span of 13 games. … Saint Mary's win over Augsburg was its first overtime win since beating Bethel 3-2 on Oct. 25, 2018. … The Cardinals' four goals in last Saturday's 4-3 victory over Augsburg were the most in a one-goal win since beating Cal State-East Bay 4-3 on Oct. 28, 2005. … Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) — who scored both of Saint Mary's goals in last Wednesday's 5-2 loss to Simpson — netted the overtime game-winner against Augsburg last Saturday. Jacob Clements (Holmen, Wis.), Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.), and Armin Jasenac (Brooklyn Center, Minn.) netted Saint Mary's other three goals against Augsburg. … Szymanski recorded his first collegiate two-goal game vs. Simpson last Wednesday. … Szymanski became the fourth Cardinal to score two goals in a game this season, joining Balsiger, Clements, and Garrett Jackson (West Linn, Ore.). … Like Szymanski, the two-goal games for Clements and Jackson were also collegiate firsts. … Jackson and Jasenac each netted their first goals in a Cardinal uniform against North Central on Sept. 19, while Clements tallied his first collegiate goal in Saint Mary's season-opener against Marian on Aug. 30. … Balsiger recorded a career-best three assists vs. North Central on Sept. 19 — marking the second time this season the Cardinals have had a player post a three-assist game. Zack Bracken (Osseo, Minn.) achieved the feat against Marian on Aug. 30. … Balsiger's five-point game against North Central on Sept. 19 was not only a career-best, but also the highest individual total since Andrew Jaworski's five-point effort against Bethany Lutheran in 2014 — and was one point shy of the single-game school record. … Balsiger — who scored a single-season career-high seven goals a year ago — heads into Tuesday's conference showdown against St. Olaf leading the team in both goals (5) and points (14), while sharing the team lead in assists (4) with Bracken. … Clements and Szymanski are second to Balsiger with four goals, two more than both Jackson and Johnluke Nahorski (Minnetonka, Minn.). … Nahorski scored one of the Cardinals' five goals in their season-opening win over Marian on Aug. 30, and has now scored in the Cardinals' first game of the year in each of the last two seasons. … Clements scored the season's first goal at 7:00 of the first half against Marian on Aug. 30. … Jimmy Perreault (Batavia, Ill.), who made a then-career-high six saves against Simpson last Wednesday, doubled that performance against Augsburg last Saturday, finishing with 12 saves.  … Sam Morris (Hockinson, Wash.) made his first collegiate start in goal against Gustavus on Sept. Sept. 21, finishing with four saves. … Morris finished with a career-high five saves in 45 minutes of relief in the Cardinals' 1-0 loss to Central-Iowa on Sept. 13. … Michael Maniak (Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) and Connor Petrich (Arden Hills, Minn.) combined on the shutout against North Central on Sept. 19, with Maniac making the lone save in the first half. … Perreault and Morris each made one save — Perreault's in the first half and Morris' in the second — in recording the combined shutout in the Cardinals' 2-0 win over Edgewood on Sept. 7. … The Cardinals' four goalkeepers have combined to post a 1.87 goals-against-average and a .717 save percentage. … The Cardinals scored a season-high nine goals in their 9-0 rout of North Central on Sept. 19. The nine goals were the most since Saint Mary's scored 11 in an 11-1 win over Presentation during the 2013 season. … Saint Mary's nine-goal outburst against North Central was also the third-highest offensive performance in program history, ranking behind the 10 goals scored vs. Rockford in 2006 and the 11 scored vs. Presentation in 2013. … The Cardinals did not allow Marian a single shot attempt in their other shutout win, a 5-0, season-opening victory on Aug. 30. … The Cardinals have scored seven goals in the first half, while netting 15 after halftime. On the flip side, 10 of the 15 goals allowed by the Cardinals have come in the second half. … The Cardinals opened the season with six straight games decided by shutout. Saint Mary's opened the year with a 5-0 win over Marian, and followed that up with a 4-0 loss to Loras, a 2-0 win over Edgewood, a 1-0 loss to Central-Iowa, a 9-0 win over North Central, and a 2-0 setback at the hands of Gustavus. … With their 5-0 win over Marian on Aug. 30, the Cardinals have now won their season opener in each of their last five seasons. … The Cardinals' 5-0 win over Marian on Aug. 30 was their fourth straight win over the Sabres — all via shutout.
 
Scouting The St. Olaf Oles:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Tuesday's game against Saint Mary's is the third home game in the last four contests for the Oles, who are 3-3-0 on Rolf Melby Field this season. … With Saturday's loss to St. Thomas, St. Olaf has now allowed three of more goals in three of its four losses this season — including surrendering five goals in a 5-1 loss to Carthage on Sept. 13, and six in a 6-1 setback at St. Thomas last Saturday. … Three of St. Olaf's five wins have been decided by one goal. … Lucas Gaulmin heads into Tuesday's showdown against Saint Mary's owning the team lead in both assists (4) and points (8). … Gaulmin, Farid Sani, Will Douglas, and Max Eissenfeld all share the team lead in goals with two each, while Thomas Gusmao, Thierno Gueve, Santiago Bonifasi, Keith Loukas, Jacob Stauffer, and Cole Beaton have all scored once. … Gusmao is second to Gaulmin in assists with two, while Sani is second to Gaulmin with five points. … St. Olaf's five game-winning goals have come from five different players — Gaulmin, Sani, Douglas, Eissenfeld, and Gusmao. … Hamza Osman has started all nine game sin goal for the Oles, compiling a 1.97 goals-against-average and a .653 save percentage. … Osman has stopped 32 of the 49 shots he's faced and owns three shutouts. … Kristian Noll has appeared in two games in relief between the pipes, but has not had to make a save in 43 minutes of work. … St. Olaf has scored 9 of its 14 goals in the first half, while the Oles' opponents have netted 11 of their 17 goals after halftime. … St. Olaf has played one overtime game this season, beating Wartburg 1-0 on Sept. 21.