By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's soccer team returns to conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to Hamline's Paterson Field for a 1 p.m. MIAC matchup against the Pipers
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-4-0 MIAC, 7-8-0 Overall) at Hamline Pipers (1-6-0 MIAC, 3-9-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's­­—October 23, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals erupted for six second-half goals — including two from Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.) and collegiate firsts from Sean Flandrick (New Richmond, Wis.), Wally Barros (Santa Maria da Boa Vista, Brazil), and Zack Bracken (Osseo, Minn.) — en route to a 7-0 rout of Martin Luther at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
• Hamline—October 23, 2019 * St. Paul, Minn.: Carleton scored the game's only goal with less than 14 minutes remaining in regulation, as the Knights dealt the Pipers a 1-0 conference setback at Paterson Field | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline — Their Last Meeting:
• October 13, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.) broke a scoreless deadlock five minutes into the second half, as the Cardinals picked up their second Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win, beating Hamline 1-0 at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
 
MIAC Post-Season Picture:
• The Cardinals enter Saturday's conference matchup against Hamline sitting in seventh with nine points (3-4-0), one win (three points) back of both Saint John's (4-4-0) and St. Olaf (4-3-0) for the sixth and final conference tournament spot with three MIAC games to play. Saint Mary's is also just four points back of Carleton and Macalester, who are tied for third in the conference standings.
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to conference play on Tuesday, heading to St. Paul, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. MIAC matchup against Macalester.
• Hamline: The Pipers return to Patterson Field in St. Paul, Minn., on Tuesday, hosting Gustavus in a 3:30 p.m. conference showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Martin Luther was the fifth home game in the last seven contests for the Cardinals, who are 5-3-0 at Ochrymowycz Field this season. … The Cardinals' 7-0 win over Martin Luther Wednesday was their second straight victory and third in their last four games. … Saint Mary's win over Martin Luther Wednesday was their final nonconference game of the season. The Cardinals finished 4-4-0 mark against non-MIAC foes. … Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.) scored a pair of goals in the Cardinals' 7-0 win over Martin Luther on Wednesday. It was the third straight game in which the Cardinal senior has found the back of the net. … Balsiger's two goals against Martin Luther Wednesday give him a single-season career-high 10 this year — and move him into a tie for the No. 4 spot all-time in career goals scored (21) with Eric Brown (1998-01). Balsiger is also fourth all-time in career points with 55, four back of No. 3 Mike Schmitt (2003-06). … Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.), Johnluke Nahorski (Minnetonka, Minn.), Sean Flandrick (New Richmond, Wis.), Wally Barros (Santa Maria da Boa Vista, Brazil), and Zack Bracken (Osseo, Minn.) netted Saint Mary's other five goals against Martin Luther on Wednesday. … The goals by Flandrick, Barros, and Bracken were collegiate firsts. The trio joins Armin Jasenac (Brooklyn Center, Minn.) and Garrett Jackson (West Linn, Ore.) as players who have netted their first collegiate goals this season. … With his two goals vs. Martin Luther Wednesday, Balsiger has now scored two goals in a game twice this season — having also achieved the feat against Marian on Aug. 30. … Szymanski, Jacob Clements (Holmen, Wis.) and Garrett Jackson (West Linn, Ore.) have also put together two-goal games this season. … Along with his team-leading 10 goals, Balsiger also heads into Saturday's conference showdown against Hamline leading the team in both assists (5) and points (25). … Szymanski is second to Balsiger with seven goals, while Clements is third with five. … Bracken 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 and Bracken each scored penalty kick goals against Martin Luther Wednesday. It was Szymanski's second PK goal of the season. … 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.), Michael Maniak (Wisconsin Dells, Wis.), and Connor Petrich (Arden Hills, Minn.) combined on the shutout against Martin Luther Wednesday. … Wednesday's shutout of Martin Luther was the fourth combined shutout of the season for the Cardinals. Maniak and Morris did not have to make a save in blanking Marian on Aug. 30, while Maniak and Petrich 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. … Morris — who made his first collegiate start in goal against Gustavus on Sept. Sept. 21 — has made a career-high five saves six times this season. … 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. … The Cardinals' four goalkeepers have combined to post a 2.18 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. … Saint Mary's has played two overtime games this season — beating Augsburg 4-3 on Sept. 28 and Bethel 2-1 on Oct. 12. … 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 13 goals in the first half, while netting 25 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 Martin Luther a single shot attempt on Wednesday. It was the second time this season Saint Mary's has held an opponent without a shot, having also blanked Marian on Aug. 30. … Saint Mary's attempted a season-high 45 shots vs. Martin Luther on Wednesday — including a season-best 23 on goal. … 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 Hamline Pipers:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Saturday's showdown with Saint Mary's is the second of three straight home contests for the Pipers, who have picked up two of their three wins on at Paterson Field this season. … Wednesday's 1-0 loss to Carleton was Hamline's fifth straight loss — including four consecutive shutout setbacks. … Hamline has been outscored 9-2 during its recent five-game slide. … After opening the season with back-to-back wins over Lawrence and Wisconsin Lutheran, Hamline has gone 1-9-1 in its last 11 contests. … Five of HU's nine losses this season have been by one goal — including 1-0, double-overtime loss to St. Scholastica on Oct. 13. … Logan Weller has accounted for seven of Hamline's 18 goals this season, while Ryan Pyle is second with three, one more than both Adam King and Stefan Kinsinger. … King has recorded a team-leading three assists, followed by Jake Sullivan, Lay Wah, and Jack Reddan with two each. … Weller is the Pipers' points leader with 14. … Weller has netted two of Hamline's three game-winning goals, with Kinsinger owning the other. … Malachy Zamacona has started all 13 games in goal for the Pipers, compiling a 1.96 goals-against-average and a .690 save percentage. … Zamacona has stopped 58 of the 84 shots he's faced and owns a pair of shutouts. … Hamline has scored eight goals in the first half, while netting 10 after the break. HU's opponents, meanwhile, own 11 first-half goals and 16 after halftime. … Hamline has played three overtime games this season — falling to both Wartburg (1-0) and St. Scholastica (1-0), and tying Northwestern (0-0). … The Pipers allowed a season-high seven goals in a 7-2 loss to Saint John's on Sept. 21. On the flip side, HU netted a season-best six goals in bouncing Lawrence 6-2 on Aug. 30.