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 Wednesday, as the Cardinals head to Carleton for a 3:30 p.m. showdown against the Knights.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-3-0 MIAC, 5-7-0 Overall) at Carleton Knights (2-1-1 MIAC, 9-2-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's­­—October 12, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: Johnluke Nahorski (Minnetonka, Minn.) scored in the final minute of the first overtime period, lifting the Cardinals to a 2-1 MIAC win over Bethel at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
• Carleton—October 12, 2019 * St. Paul, Minn.: St. Thomas scored the game's only goal on a penalty kick in the first half, as the Tommies handed the Knights a 1-0 conference setback at South Filed | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Carleton — Their Last Meeting:
• October 23, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Playoff-bound Carleton scored three goals in the second half to pull away and deal the Cardinals a 4-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return home on Saturday for Senior Day, playing host to Concordia in a 1 p.m. conference contest.
• Carleton: The Knights take to the road on Saturday, heading to St. Peter, Minn., for a 1 p.m. MIAC matchup against Gustavus.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The Cardinals are in the midst of playing five of six games on their home turf — the lone exception, Wednesday's matchup at Carleton. Saint Mary's is 3-3-0 at Ochrymowycz Field, while posting a 2-4-0 mark on the road. … Last Saturday's 2-1 overtime win over Bethel pushed the Cardinals' unbeaten streak against the Royals to five (4-0-1) — while also snapping their season-high three-game losing streak. … The Cardinals' last two wins have come in overtime — along with last Saturday's 2-1 victory over Bethel, Saint Mary's also dropped Augsburg in OT on Sept. 28, beating the Auggies 4-3. … Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) had a hand in both Cardinal goals against Bethel last Saturday, scoring the game-tying goal in the 77th minute and assisting on Johnluke Nahorski's (Minnetonka, Minn.) game-winner with less than one minute remaining in overtime. … Szymanski's second-half goal against Saint John's on Oct. 5 was the Cardinals' first penalty kick goal of the season. Saint Mary's attempted just one PK a year ago. … 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 Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.), Jacob Clements (Holmen, Wis.), 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 Wednesday's conference showdown at Carleton sharing the team lead in goals (6) with Szymanski, while also leading the team in both assists (5) and points (17). … Clements is third on the team with five goals, two more than both Nahorski and Jasenac. … 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. … 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 each of his last five appearances. … 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.  … 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 2.31 goals-against-average and a .671 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. … 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 have scored nine goals in the first half, while netting 19 after halftime. On the flip side, 16 of the 28 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. … The Cardinals did not allow Marian a single shot attempt in their season-opening victory on Aug. 30. … 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 Carleton Knights:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• After playing back-to-back road games in St. Paul, Minn., the Knights return home to Bell Field, where they are 6-0-1. Carleton is 3-2-0 on the road this season. … Last Saturday's 1-0 loss to St. Thomas snapped the Knights' eight-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1). … Both of Carleton's losses this season have been decided by one goal — the Knights fell to North Central (Ill.) 2-1 in overtime on Sept. 6, and dropped the 1-0 decision to St. Thomas last Saturday. … Eight of Carleton's nine wins this season have been by shutout — the lone exception, a 2-1 victory over Central-Iowa on Sept. 24. … Tonny Aton heads into Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's leading the team in goals with six, one more than both Brennan Johnson and Marco da Cunha, and two in front of Charlie Hall. … Johnson has amassed a team-best eight assists, two in front of da Cunha, while also leading the team with 18 points. … Johnson is one of four Knights with 10 or more points through 12 games — da Cunha (16), Aton (13), and Hall (10) are the other three. … Johnson has netted a team-high four game-winning goals, with Aton, Hall, Trevor Jones, Alvin Bierley, and Justin Crawmer scoring the other five. … Carleton is 1-for-3 in penalty kicks, with Hall netting the lone goal. … Aaron Forman has played in all 12 games between the pipes for the Knights, posting a conference-best 0.45 goals-against-average and an .800 save percentage. … Forman has stopped 20 of the 25 shots he's faced. The five goals against are the fewest among MIAC goalies this season. … Ethan Saucedo and Elliot Hanson have played 55:13 and 46:20 minutes in relief appearances, with neither allowing a goal. … Carleton has outscored its opponents 10-2 in the first half, while holding a 21-3 advantage after the break. … The Knights have played two overtime games this season — falling to North Central (Ill.) 2-1 and tying Macalester 1-1.