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 Tuesday, as the Cardinals travel to Macalester Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. MIAC matchup against the Scots
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-4-0 MIAC, 8-8-0 Overall) at Macalester Scots (4-3-1 MIAC, 6-5-4 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's­­—October 26, 2019 * St. Paul, Minn.: Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) recorded his first collegiate hat trick, scoring three unanswered goals in leading the Cardinals to a 4-1 win over Hamline at Paterson Field | Recap
• Hamline—October 26, 2019 * St. Paul, Minn.: St. Thomas scored the game's only goal in the 75^th minute, lifting the Tommies to a 1-0 conference win over Macalester at Macalester Stadium | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester — Their Last Meeting:
• October 20, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: Saint Mary's set its sights on accomplishing something no other team this year has been able to — beat Macalester on its home turf. The Scots, however, gave the Cardinals a first-hand look at why they are so untouchable on their home field — scoring three second-half goals to pull away and deal Saint Mary's a 4-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback | Recap
 
MIAC Post-Season Picture:
• The Cardinals enter Wednesday's conference matchup against Macalester sitting tied with Saint John's for the sixth and final MIAC Tournament berth with 4-4-0 conference records. Saint Mary's and SJU are both just one point behind Macalester (4-3-1) with two games remaining.

Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals close out the regular-season portion of their schedule on Saturday, returning home to Ochrymowycz Field for a 1 p.m. MIAC showdown against St. Thomas.
• Macalester: The Scots are on the road for their regular-season finale on Saturday, traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference matchup against Gustavus.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Tuesday's game at Macalester is the second straight road contest for the Cardinals, who are 3-5-0 on the road this season. … The Cardinals' 4-1 win over Hamline last Saturday pushed their winning streak to three straight. … Saint Mary's victory over Hamline last Saturday was its eighth win of the season — the most in a season since finishing 8-9-1 in 2017. The last time the Cardinals have won nine games in a season was 2000, when they posted a 9-8-1 overall record. … Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) scored three of the Cardinals' four goals in last Saturday's 4-1 win over Hamline, with Johnluke Nahorski (Minnetonka, Minn.) accounting for Saint Mary's other goal. It was Szymanski's first collegiate hat trick and marked the second time this season the sophomore has posted a multiple-goal game — having netted two goals against Simpson on Sept. 25. … Saint Mary's has now had a multiple-goal scorer in back-to-back games — Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.) scored a pair of goals against Martin Luther last Wednesday. … Balsiger has scored two goals in a game twice this year, also scoring twice against Marian on Aug. 30. … Balsiger's two goals against Martin Luther last 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). … With his three goals against Hamline, Nahorski moved into a tie with Balsiger for the team lead with 10. … The 10 goals by both Balsiger and Szymanski mark the first time since 1989 that the Cardinals have boasted two players with 10 or more goals in the same season. Jared Rasmussen and Doug Freeman each netted 10 goals during that 1989 season. … Along with his 10 goals, Balsiger also heads into Tuesday's conference showdown against Macalester leading the team in both assists (5) and points (25). … Szymanski is second to Balsiger with 23 points. … 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. … One of Szymanski's three goals against Hamline last Saturday came on a penalty kick. The sophomore is now a perfect 3-for-3 in PKs this season. … The goals by Sean Flandrick (New Richmond, Wis.), Wally Barros (Santa Maria da Boa Vista, Brazil), and Zack Bracken (Osseo, Minn.) against Martin Luther last Wednesday 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. …  Szymanski, Jacob Clements (Holmen, Wis.) and Garrett Jackson (West Linn, Ore.) have also put together two-goal games this 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.) picked up the win in goal against Hamline last Saturday, finishing with four saves. … Morris, Michael Maniak (Wisconsin Dells, Wis.), and Connor Petrich (Arden Hills, Minn.) combined on the shutout against Martin Luther last Wednesday. … Last 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 2.11 goals-against-average and a .673 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 15 goals in the first half, while netting 27 after halftime. On the flip side, 19 of the 34 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 last Wednesday — including a season-best 23 on goal. … Saint Mary's 7-0 win over Martin Luther last Wednesday was their final nonconference game of the season. The Cardinals finished 4-4-0 mark against non-MIAC foes. … 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 Macalester Scots:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Tuesday's conference showdown against Saint Mary's is the second of back-to-back home games for the Scots, who boast a 3-3-3 record at Macalester Stadium this season. … Last Saturday's 1-0 loss to St. Thomas was the Scots' second shutout loss in the last three games — sandwiching a 2-0 setback to Concordia and a 1-0 loss to St. Thomas around a 1-0 win over Hamline. … After opening the season 4-2-3, Macalester is 2-3-1 in its last six contests. …  Chris Bajek heads into Tuesday's matchup against Saint Mary's leading the team in both goals (4) and points (9). Nick Moore, Max Starks, Floyd Krom, Webster An, Alex Foster, and Will Orser are all second to Bajek with two goals each. … Moore is the team's assist leader with three and is second to Bajek with seven points. … Bajek has netted a team-leading two game-winning goals, with Krom, An, Jack Muller, and Danny Peak recording the other four game-winners. … As a team, the Scots have scored just 19 goals in 15 games — but have allowed just 14. … Cade Fink has started 14 of the Scots' 15 games in goal, compiling a 0.94 goals-against-average and an .806 save percentage. … Fink has stopped 58 of the 72 shots he's faced and owns a pair of shutouts. … Fink ranks No. 2 in the MIAC in save percentage and No. 4 in GAA. … Mitchell Kastilahn started the other game between the pipes for the Scots, stopping all four shots he faced in blanking St. Scholastica on XXX. … Macalester has scored three of more goals in a game just twice this season — netting three goals in a 3-0 win over St. Olaf on Sept. 21, while tallying a season-high four goals in beating then-No. 23 Augsburg 4-1 three days earlier. … Macalester has played four overtime games this season — with all four resulting in ties.