By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's soccer team returns to Ochrymowycz Field on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Carroll in a 7 p.m. nonconference matchup.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-6-0 Overall) vs. Carroll Pioneers (6-4-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's­­—October 5, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: Saint John's jumped out to 3-1 first-half lead and held off a furious second-half Cardinal comeback in dealing Saint Mary's a 5-3 MIAC setback at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
• Carroll—October 5, 2019 * Rock Island, Ill.: Augustana scored 19 seconds into overtime, as the Vikings handed the Pioneers a 2-1 College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin setback | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Carroll — Their Last Meeting:
• October 3, 2018 * Waukesha, Wis.: Saint Mary's scored a solo goal early in the first half and Carroll answered with a goal early in the second, as the two teams battled to a 1-1 deadlock | Recap
  
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals get back into Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, hosting Bethel in a 1 p.m. matchup at Ochrymowycz Field
• Carroll: The Pioneers are back on the road on Saturday, when they return to CCIW action with a 7:30 p.m. showdown with North Central.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Carroll is the second of three straight home games for the Cardinals, who are 2-2-0 in their four home contests this season. … The Cardinals enter Wednesday's nonconference game against Carroll having scored three or more goals in two of their last three games. Saint Mary's found the back of the net four times in a 4-3 OT win over Augsburg on Sept. 28 and scoring three times in last Saturday's 5-3 loss to Saint John's. … Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.), Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) and Jacob Clements (Holmen, Wis.) netted the Cardinals' three goals in last Saturday's 5-3 loss to Saint John's. … Szymanski's second-half goal against Saint John's last Saturday was the Cardinals' first penalty kick goal of the season. … 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 Armin Jasenac (Brooklyn Center, Minn.) 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 Wednesday's nonconference showdown against Carroll Wednesday leading the team in all three offensive categories — goals (6), assists (5), and points (17). … Clements and Szymanski are second to Balsiger with five goals, two more than Jasenac and three in front of both Jackson and Johnluke Nahorski (Minnetonka, Minn.). … Bracken is second to Balsiger in assists with four. … 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 on Sept. 28, 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 2.39 goals-against-average and a .662 save percentage. … 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. … Saint Mary's win over Augsburg on Sept. 28 was its first overtime win since beating Bethel 3-2 on Oct. 25, 2018. … 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 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 nine goals in the first half, while netting 17 after halftime. On the flip side, 15 of the 24 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 Carroll Pioneers:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of three straight road games for the Pioneers, who have collected four of their six wins this season on their home field. … After opening the season 5-2, Carroll has managed just one win in its last three contests — a 7-0 win over Northland on Oct. 2. … Ryan Coughlin netted Carroll's lone goal in last Saturday's 2-1 loss at Augustana. … Shea Connell enters Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's owning a team-high 11 goals. Jack Daly is second with five goals, with Coughlin and Julius Marks each chipping in three. … Coughlin is the team-leader in assists with five, while Connell boasts a team-high 23 points. … Connell is one of three Pioneers with 10 or more points, being joined by Coughlin (11) and Daly (10). … Connell has scored the game-winning goal in five of Carroll's six wins. … Carroll has attempted six PKs this season, converting four, while the Pioneers' opponents are 4-for-5 in penalty kick attempts. … The Pioneers have used four different goalkeepers this season. Mathias Holm owns a team-low 0.86 goals-against-average and a .700 save percentage in four starts, while Peter Villafuerte (4 GP, 0.87 GAA, .667 save %), Tyler Hanson (2 GP, 1.44 GAA, .714 save %), and Heath Anderson (2 GP, 3.24 GAA, .500 save %) have also seen time between the pipes this season. … Four of Carroll's six wins this season have been via shutout. … The Pioneers have been held without a goal just once this season — falling to Carthage 3-0 on Sept. 28.