By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's soccer team kicks off the 2018 season on its home turf Friday, as the Cardinals entertain Marian in a 5 p.m. nonconference contest at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2018: 6-11-1 Overall) vs. Marian Sabres (2018: 4-10-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Today's nonconference matchup is the season opener for both the Cardinals and the Sabres.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Marian — Their Last Meeting:
• September 10, 2016 * Fond du Lac, Wis.: It took more than 99 minutes, but for Saint Mary's, it was worth the wait. The Cardinals took advantage of a Marian miscue with less than a minute remaining in overtime, as Saint Mary's collected a 1-0 nonconference win over Marian | Recap
  
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road for the first time this season on Wednesday, traveling to Dubuque, Iowa, for a 7 p.m. nonconference showdown against Loras.
• Marian: The Sabres are right back on the road on Tuesday, traveling to Ripon, Wis., for a 4:30 p.m. nonconference matchup against Ripon.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2018 Final Statistics
• The Cardinals, coming off a 6-11-1 campaign a year ago, return two of three 2018 honorable-mention All-MIAC selections — Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.) and Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.). … Balsiger's team-leading seven goals last season — a single-season career-high — were four more than Robbie Sobczak (Cloquet, Minn.), Charles Reit (Arcadia, Wis.), and Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.), and four in front of Kyle Lichttenegger (De Pere, Wis.). … The Cardinals had 10 different players score goals in 2018. Along with Balsiger (7), Sobczak (3), Reit (3), Szymanski (3), and Lichttenegger (2), the Cardinals' other six goals came from Cole Van Houten (Pine Island, Minn.), R.J. Vazquez (Antioch, Ill.), Johnluke Nahorski (Minnetonka, Minn.), Beiersdorf, and Klaus Friedli (Marshfield, Wis.). … Saint Mary's boasted five players who recorded their first collegiate goals last season. Van Houten and Vazquez scored their first collegiate goals in the Cardinals' 4-3 loss to UW-Superior on Sept. 30; Szymanski and Nahorski netted their first collegiate goals in Saint Mary's season-opening 3-1 win over North Central on Aug. 31, while Friedli tallied his first goal in a Cardinal uniform in Saint Mary's 4-1 victory over Crown on Sept. 4. … Szymanski picked up his first collegiate two-assist game against Crown on Sept. 4 … Along with his team-leading seven goals, Balsiger also boasted a team-best 15 points a year ago. … Szymanski and Nahorski shared the team lead in assists with three each. … Albert Centeno (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) closed out his senior season a year ago making 75 saves — including three games with eight or more saves. … Centeno stopped a career-high 18 shots — eight in the first half, eight in the second half, and two in the first overtime — in the Cardinals' 1-0 loss to Loras on Sept. 19. … Centeno's 18-save effort was the most in a single game since Jon Szafranski stopped 18 against Viterbo on Sept. 23, 2009. … Centeno recorded his first two collegiate shutouts in 2018 — stopping the lone shot he faced in the Cardinals' 1-0 win on Hamline on Oct. 13, while making two saves in Saint Mary's season-ending 2-0 victory over Concordia on Oct. 27. … Centeno finished the year with a 2.15 goals-against-average and a .721 save percentage in 14 starts . … Centeno's 75 saves ranked third among MIAC goalkeepers. … Jimmy Perreault (Batavia, Ill.) stopped both Simpson shots he faced in the first half of the Cardinals' 1-0 loss to the Storm on Oct. 17, while Michael Maniak (Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) made seven saves over the game's final 45 minutes. … Maniak boasted a 1.47 GAA and a .783 save percentage in five games between the pipes last year, while Perreault posted a 1.80 GAA and .667 save percentage in three appearances. … Seven of the Cardinals' last 12 games were decided by one goal — including four that went into overtime. … The Cardinals' 4-1 loss to Carleton on Oct. 23 included a pair of own goals — one for each team. … As a team, the Cardinals scored three or more goals in four of their six wins — netting three goals in wins over Martin Luther (3-1), North Central (3-0), and Bethel (3-2), while tallying a season-high four goals in beating Crown 4-1. … Saint Mary's three goals in its 4-3 loss to UW-Superior on Sept. 30 were the most in a loss since the Cardinals netted three in a 4-3 overtime loss to St. Thomas on Sept. 12, 2012. … Saint Mary's scored 11 goals in the first half and 14 goals after the break last season. On the flip side, the Cardinals' opponents scored 15 first-half goals and 22 goals after halftime. … The Cardinals finished 2-6-0 on their home turf, while going 4-5-1 away from Ochrymowycz Field. … With their 3-1 win over North Central on Aug. 31, the Cardinals have now won their season-opener in each of their last four seasons. … The Cardinals have now started the season 4-0-0 and 3-1-0 in their last two seasons.

Scouting The Marian Sabres:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2018 Final Statistics
• The Sabres enter tonight's season-opener against Saint Mary's coming off a 4-10-2 performance a year ago, including a 2-8-1 showing in Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC) play. … Marian is looking to snap a 2018 season-ending three-game losing streak. The Sabres closed out the year with losses to Wisconsin Lutheran (3-0), Benedictine (2-0), and Edgewood (3-2). … Marian opens the season without graduated senior Ian Chacon, a Second-Team All-NACC selection a year ago. Chacon went 4-9-2 on the season — with all four of his victories coming via shutout. Chacon boasted a 1.73 goals-against-average and recorded a conference-leading 111 saves. … Brandon Mancini closed out 2018 as the team's goal-scoring leader with five, two more than Juan Herrera. … Mancini and Herrera combined to score eight of the team's 14 goals last season. Alexis Estela, Cade Klusendorf, Josiah Kusik, Kylar Narance, Chris Nelson, and Jack Ruscheinski each scored once to account for the Sabres' other six tallies. … Herrera and Klusendorf shared the team lead with three assists in 2018, while Mancini (10) and Herrera (9) were the team's points leaders. … Herrera, Klusendorf, and Nelson netted Marian's three game-winning goals last season. … Along with Chacon, Elliot Clough and Cory Koehler also saw some time between the pipes for the Sabres last season. Clough played in two games, compiling a 5.00 goals-against-average and .706 save percentage, while Cory Koehler stopped two of the five shots he faced in his lone appearance. … Twelve of Marian's 16 games last season were decided by shutout. — including all four Sabres' victories. … Marian scored a season-high four goals in a 4-0 victory over Lakeland on Sept. 26. On the flip side, the Sabres allowed five or more goals three times last season — including surrendering a season-high six goals in 6-0 losses to both Albion and Dominican.