By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's soccer team closes out the nonconference portion of its schedule on Wednesday, entertaining Martin Luther in a 7 p.m. contest at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-8-0 Overall) vs. Martin Luther Knights (5-9-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's­­—October 19, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.) and Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.) scored first-half goals, as the Cardinals knocked off Concordia 2-1 at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
• Martin Luther—October 19, 2019 * New Ulm, Minn.: The Knights scored a pair of second-half goals in dealing Northwestern a 2-0 conference setback | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Martin Luther — Their Last Meeting:
• September 1, 2018 * New Ulm, Minn.: For the second game in a row, the Cardinals erupted for three goals — including a second goal in as many games by Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) — as Saint Mary's tallied three goals in the second half in handing Martin Luther a 3-0 setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to conference play on Saturday, heading to St. Paul, Minn., for a 1 p.m. MIAC matchup against Hamline.
• Martin Luther: The Knights hit the road on Saturday, traveling to Ashland, Wis., for a 3:30 p.m. UMAC contest against Northland.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Martin Luther is the fifth home game in the last six contests for the Cardinals, who are 4-3-0 at Ochrymowycz Field this season. … The Cardinals' showdown against Martin Luther Wednesday is their final nonconference game of the season. Saint Mary's owns a 3-4-0 mark against non-MIAC foes. … Saint Mary's win over Concordia last Saturday was its second win the last three contests — with both victories decided by 2-1 counts. … Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.) — who scored the Cardinals' lone goal in last Wednesday's 4-1 loss at Carleton — netted one of Saint Mary's two goals against Concordia three days later. … Balsiger's goal against Concordia was his team-leading eighth of the year — a single-season career high. … After scoring four goals combined in his first two seasons, Balsiger has netted 15 goals over the last two seasons. … Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.) scored Saint Mary's other goal vs. the Cobbers last Saturday, while Yael Calderon (Los Angeles, Calif.), Kyle Lichttenegger (De Pere, Wis.), and Jacob Clements (Holmen, Wis.) picked up assists. … Along with his team-leading eight goals, Balsiger also heads into Wednesday's nonconference showdown against Concordia leading the team in both assists (5) and points (21). … Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) is second to Balsiger with six goals, while Clements 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. … GK 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 2.33 goals-against-average and a .670 save percentage. … The Cardinals' 2-1 overtime win over Bethel on Oct. 12 pushed their unbeaten streak against the Royals to five (4-0-1) — while also snapping their season-high three-game losing streak. … Two of the Cardinals' last three wins have come in overtime — along with its 2-1 victory over Bethel on Oct. 12, 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 12 goals in the first half, while netting 19 after halftime. On the flip side, 20 of the 33 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 Martin Luther Knights:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back road games for the Knights, who are just 1-4-2 away from MLC Soccer Field this season. … Last Saturday's 2-0 victory over Northwestern was Martin Luther's second straight win. … With last Saturday's 2-0 win over Northwestern, nine of the Knights' 16 games this season have been decided by shutout — MLC is 3-6 in those nine contests. … Joe Graumann scored his team-leading eighth-goal of the season against Northwestern last Saturday. Graumann also leads the Knights with 20 points (8 G, 4 A). … Clay Hirsch is the team's assist leader with seven, two more than Lucas Martin and three in front of Graumann. … Luke Melhack is second to Graumann in both goals (5) and points (13). … Martin Luther's five game-winning goals this season have come from five different players — Graumann, Melhack, Nate Lemke, Mark Burger, and Xander Heiman. … Martin Luther has attempted four penalty kicks this season, converting on three of them. MLC's opponents, meanwhile, are 4-for-5 in PKs. … Martin Luther has used three different goalkeepers this season, led by Joshua Higgins and Josiah Mittelstadt. Higgins has compiled a 2.56 goals-against-average and a .777 save percentage in nine starts, while Mittelstadt owns a 3.39 GAA and .714 save percentage in seven starts. … Samuel Olson has also seen time between the pipes, recording a 2.66 GAA in three relief appearances. … Higgins has made a team-high 80 saves, 20 in front of Mittelstadt. … Martin Luther has scored five or more goals twice this season — netting six in a 6-0 win over North Central (Minn.) on Sept. 10, while scoring a team-high eight in drubbing Nebraska Christian 8-0 on Sept. 2. On the flip side, the Knights have allowed seven goals in a game twice — both 7-0 losses to Bethany Lutheran — and surrendered a season-high nine in falling to Gustavus 9-0 on Sept. 5. … Martin Luther has played five overtime games this season, going 1-2-2 — the lone win, a 2-1 victory over North Central (Minn.) on Sept. 28. … Both of Martin Luther's ties this season have been 2-2 decisions.