By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's soccer team returns to conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals return home to Ochrymowycz Field for a 1 p.m. showdown against Saint John's.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-2-0 MIAC, 4-5-0 Overall) vs. Saint John's Johnnies (3-1-0 MIAC, 6-2-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's­­—October 1, 2019 * Northfield, Minn.: The Cardinals surrendered three goals in a 19-minute span midway through the second half, as St. Olaf dealt Saint Mary's a 4-1 conference setback at Rolf Melby Field | Recap
• Saint John's—October 1, 2019 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Johnnies had their three-game conference winning streak snapped, as St. Thomas scored three unanswered goals in dealing SJU a 3-1 setback at UST's South Field | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint John's — Their Last Meeting:
• October 6, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Saint John's scored a pair of goals 59 seconds apart late in the second half in dealing Saint Mary's a 3-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action on Wednesday, when they return to Ochrymowycz Field for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against Carroll.
• Saint John's: The Johnnies are right back in action on Sunday, returning home to Haws Field in Collegeville, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. nonconference contest against UM-Morris.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Tuesday's game against St. Olaf was the Cardinals' fourth road game in the last five contests — the lone exception, last Saturday's 4-3 overtime win over Augsburg. … The Cardinals' 4-3 win over Augsburg last Saturday 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. … Saint Mary's win over Augsburg was its first overtime win since beating Bethel 3-2 on Oct. 25, 2018. … The Cardinals' four goals in last Saturday's 4-3 victory over Augsburg were the most in a one-goal win since beating Cal State-East Bay 4-3 on Oct. 28, 2005. … Armin Jasenac (Brooklyn Center, Minn.) scored the Cardinals' lone goal against St. Olaf Tuesday. It was the freshman's third of the season — and second in as many games. … Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) 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 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. … 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 Saturday's conference showdown against Saint John's leading the team in both goals (5) and points (14), while sharing the team lead in assists (4) with Bracken. … Clements and Szymanski are second to Balsiger with four goals, one more than Jasenac and two in front of both Jackson and Johnluke Nahorski (Minnetonka, Minn.). … 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. … Jimmy Perreault (Batavia, Ill.), who made a then-career-high six saves against Simpson on Sept. 25, doubled that performance against Augsburg last Saturday, finishing with 12 saves.  … Sam Morris (Hockinson, Wash.) made his first collegiate start in goal against Gustavus on Sept. Sept. 21, finishing with four saves. … Morris finished with a career-high five saves in 45 minutes of relief in the Cardinals' 1-0 loss to Central-Iowa on Sept. 13. … 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 2.10 goals-against-average and a .689 save percentage. … 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 did not allow Marian a single shot attempt in their other shutout win, a 5-0, season-opening victory on Aug. 30. … The Cardinals have scored eight goals in the first half, while netting 15 after halftime. On the flip side, 13 of the 19 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. … 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 Saint John's Johnnies:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of back-to-back road games for the Johnnies, who are 3-1-0 on their home turf and 3-2-0 away from Haws Field. … After opening the season with wins in five of their first six games, the Johnnies are 1-2-0 in their last three — sandwiching a 3-2 win over Macalester between a 1-0 loss to UW-Whitewater and Tuesday's 3-1 setback at the hands of St. Thomas. … Ben Becker and Kagan Foster head into Saturday's showdown against Saint Mary's sharing the team lead in goals with five each. … Becker also shares the team lead in assists (3) with Paul Wadsworth and Leighton Lommel, while leading the team with 13 points. … Wadsworth has scored two goals and is the only other Johnnie besides Becker and Foster to score more than once this season. … SJU's five game-winning goals have come from five different players — Foster, Wadsworth, Lommel, Matt Anderson, and Cavin Allen. … Saint John's has attempted four penalty kicks this season, converting on two. SJU's opponents are 1-2 in PKs. … Nicholas French and Payton Spencer have shared the goalkeeping duties this season. French has compiled a 1.40 goals-against-average and a .767 save percentage in five starts, while Spencer owns a 1.75 GAA and .731 save percentage in four starts. … French has made a team-high 23 saves, with Spencer close behind with 19. … French owns the Johnnies' lone shutout, stopping both shots he faced in a 1-0 win over Concordia on Sept. 18. … The Johnnies have outscored their opponents 9-7 in the first half, while holding a 13-7 edge after the break.