By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's soccer team returns home to Ochrymowycz Field to celebrate Senior Day on Saturday, as the Cardinal entertain Concordia in a 1 p.m. conference matchup.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-4-0 MIAC, 5-8-0 Overall) vs. Concordia Cobbers (2-4-0 MIAC, 8-4-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | Senior Salute
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's­­—October 16, 2019 * Northfield, Minn.: Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.) scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season, but Carleton broke a 1-1 first-half deadlock, scoring three unanswered goals in dropping the Cardinals 4-1 at Bell Field | Recap
• Concordia—October 16, 2019 * Fargo, N.D.: St. Thomas scored the game's only goal with less than eight minutes remaining in regulation, lifting the Tommies to a 1-0 MIAC win over the Cobbers | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia — Their Last Meeting:
• October 27, 2018 * Moorhead, Minn.: Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.) has enjoyed a career year for Saint Mary's this season. And the Cardinal junior capped it off in stellar fashion, scoring his team-leading seventh goal of the season in leading Saint Mary's to a season-ending 2-0 MIAC victory over Concordia | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals step out of conference play on Wednesday, hosting Martin Luther in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at Ochrymowycz Field.
• Concordia: The Cobbers return home on Saturday, entertaining Gustavus in a 1 p.m.  

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Concordia is the fourth home game in the last five contests for the Cardinals, who are 3-3-0 at Ochrymowycz Field this season. … Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.) scored the Cardinals' lone goal in Wednesday's 4-1 loss at Carleton. … Balsiger's goal was his team-leading seventh of the season — matching his single-season career-high of a year ago. After scoring four goals combined in his first two seasons, Balsiger has netted 14 goals over the last two seasons. … Balsiger heads into Saturday's conference showdown against Concordia also leading the team in both assists (5) and points (19). … Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) is second to Balsiger with six goals, while Jacob Clements (Holmen, Wis.) is third with five goals, two more than both Johnluke Nahorski (Minnetonka, Minn.) and Armin Jasenac (Brooklyn Center, Minn.). … Zack Bracken (Osseo, Minn.) is second to Balsiger in assists with four. … 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. Bracken 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. … 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 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. … 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 six 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 2.44 goals-against-average and a .663 save percentage. … The Cardinals' 2-1 overtime win over Bethel last Saturday pushed their 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. … 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 10 goals in the first half, while netting 19 after halftime. On the flip side, 19 of the 32 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 Concordia Cobbers:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Saturday's game at Saint Mary's Is the third road game in the last four contests for the Cobbers, who are 2-2-2 on the road this season. … Concordia's eight wins this season have come via a pair of season-high four-game winning streaks. CC opened the season with four consecutive wins, followed that up with a four-game winless streak (0-3-1), and added its second four-game winning streak. … Sam Gess enters Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's having scored a team-high 14 goals in 14 games this season. … Gess also leads the team in points with 33, and shares the team lead in assists (5) with Nate Weaver. … Weaver is second to Gess in both goals (9) and points (23). … Gess has scored a team-leading four game-winning goals, one more than both Weaver and Tyson Aberle, while Telvin Vah owns the Cobbers' other game-winner. … Concordia has attempted two penalty kicks this season — missing both — while the Cobbers' opponents are 0-for-1 in PKs. … Keith Sullivan and Noah Sahr have shared the goalkeeping duties this season, with Sullivan boasting a 1.16 goals-against-average and .696 save percentage, while Sahr has compiled a 1.30 GAA and .725 save percentage. … Sahr owns a team-high 29 saves, with Sullivan adding 16. … Concordia has scored three of more goals in seven of its eight wins — including a season-high five-goal effort in blanking Nebraska Wesleyan on Sept. 8. … Three of Concordia's four losses this season have come by one goal — the lone exception, a 3-0 loss to Carleton on Sept. 28. … Concordia has played two overtime games this season, with both ending in ties. CC battled UW-Superior to a 1-1 deadlock on Sept. 22, while playing Simpson to a 2-2 stalemate on Sept. 13.