By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's soccer team returns to conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals return home to Ochrymowycz Field for a 1 p.m. showdown against Bethel.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-3-0 MIAC, 4-7-0 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (1-4-0 MIAC, 6-6-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's­­—October 9, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: Carroll scored less than one minute into the first half, and the Cardinals never recovered, as the Pioneers dealt Saint Mary's a 3-0 nonconference setback at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
• Bethel—October 6, 2019 * Arden Hills, Minn.: St. Thomas scored a pair of second-half goals in rolling to a 3-0 conference win over the Royals at Ona Orth Athletic Complex | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel — Their Last Meeting:
• September 25, 2018 * Arden Hills, Minn.: The Cardinals, trailing 2-0 early in the first half, rattled off three unanswered goals — including the game-winner by Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.) with 1:22 remaining in the first extra period — en route to a 3-2 MIAC victory over the Royals | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: After back-to-back home games, the Cardinals take to the road on Wednesday, heading to Northfield, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. MIAC showdown against Carleton.
• Bethel: The Royals are back on the road on Wednesday, traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. conference matchup against Gustavus.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The Cardinals enter Saturday's game against Bethel riding a three-game winning streak against the Royals and are unbeaten in their last four meetings (3-0-1). … Saturday's game against Bethel is the third straight home game for the Cardinals, who are 2-3-0 in their five home contests this season. … The Cardinals enter Saturday's conference game against Bethel having scored three or more goals in two of their last four games. Saint Mary's found the back of the net four times in a 4-3 OT win over Augsburg on Sept. 28 and scoring three times in last Saturday's 5-3 loss to Saint John's. … Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.), Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) and Jacob Clements (Holmen, Wis.) netted the Cardinals' three goals in last Saturday's 5-3 loss to Saint John's. … Szymanski's second-half goal against Saint John's last Saturday was the Cardinals' first penalty kick goal of the season. … Szymanski recorded his first collegiate two-goal game vs. Simpson on Sept. 25. … 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 Armin Jasenac (Brooklyn Center, Minn.) 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 Saturday's conference showdown against Bethel leading the team in all three offensive categories — goals (6), assists (5), and points (17). … Clements and Szymanski are second to Balsiger with five goals, two more than Jasenac and three in front of both Jackson and Johnluke Nahorski (Minnetonka, Minn.). … Bracken is second to Balsiger in assists with four. … 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 on Sept. 25, doubled that performance against Augsburg on Sept. 28, finishing with 12 saves.  … Sam Morris (Hockinson, Wash.) — who made his first collegiate start in goal against Gustavus on Sept. Sept. 21 — has made a career-high five saves in four of his six appearances this season, including a five-save effort against Carroll on Wednesday. … 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 2.45 goals-against-average and a .648 save percentage. … The Cardinals' 4-3 win over Augsburg on Sept. 28 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 on Sept. 28 was its first overtime win since beating Bethel 3-2 on Oct. 25, 2018. … The Cardinals' four goals in their 4-3 victory over Augsburg on Sept. 28 were the most in a one-goal win since beating Cal State-East Bay 4-3 on Oct. 28, 2005. …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 nine goals in the first half, while netting 17 after halftime. On the flip side, 16 of the 27 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 Bethel Royals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Saturday's game at Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back road games for the Royals, who have collected five of their six wins this season on the road. … After opening the season 6-3-0, Bethel enters its conference showdown against Saint Mary's having dropped three straight. … Bethel opened the season with four straight wins — sandwiching 1-0 victories over Northwestern and Cornell around 2-1 wins vs. North Central and Bethany Lutheran. … Five of Bethel's six wins have been by one goal — the lone exception a 3-1 win over Crown on Sept. 26. … Bethel has been shut out in four of its six losses — falling to Simpson (1-0), Carleton (3-0), Macalester (1-0), and St. Thomas (3-0). … Connor Nelson enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's leading the Royals with six goals, three more than both Brandon Martinez-Luhman and Cobi Heckmann. … Nelson and Isaac Howell share the team lead with four assists each, while Nelson owns a team-best 16 points. … Nelson, Heckman, and Ben Richburg have each scored two game-winning goals. … Colin Hupert and Ben Wright have shared the goalkeeping duties for the Royals, with Hupert boasting a 1.58 goals-against- average and .732 save percentage in seven starts, while Wright owns a 2.14 GAA and .667 save percentage in six appearances — including five starts. … Hupert has stopped 30 of the 41 shots he's faced, with Wright chipping in 22 saves. … Bethel scored a season-high four goals in its 4-3 win over Concordia Sept. 21. On the flip side, the Royals surrendered a season-high five goals in falling to UW-Platteville 5-1 on Sept. 8.