By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's soccer team returns home to Ochrymowycz Field on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain Martin Luther in a 3:30 p.m. nonconference match.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-0-0 Overall) vs. Martin Luther Knights (2-1-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — September 8, 2019 * Ripon, Wis.: Jordyn Matthews (Seattle, Wash.) posted her second straight two-goal game and Mary Loy (Burien, Wash.) added another, as the Cardinals won their third straight game, rolling to a 3-0 win over Ripon | Recap
• Martin Luther — September 13, 2019 * New Ulm, Minn.: The Knights picked up their second straight shutout win, scoring twice in each half en route to a 4-0 victory over Moiunt Marcy | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Martin Luther — Their Last Meeting:
• August 31, 2018 * New Ulm, Minn.: Clinging to a 1-0 lead at halftime — despite outshooting host Martin Luther 7-1 over the game's opening 45 minutes — the Cardinals erupted for three goals in a 12-minute span early in the second half en route to a season-opening 4-0 nonconference win over the Knights | Recap
  
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return home to Ochrymowycz Field on Tuesday, kicking off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a 7 p.m. showdown against St. Catherine.
• Martin Luther: The Knights are back in action on Wednesday, heading back home to New Ulm, Minn., for a 4 p.m. matchup against Bethany Lutheran.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The Cardinals have never lost to Martin Luther in program history, sporting a perfect 5-0-0 record. … Saint Mary's has outscoring the Knights 31-5 in their previous five meetings. … Saturday's matchup against Martin Luther is the second of three straight home games for the Cardinals. … With their 3-0 win over Ripon last Sunday, the Cardinals improved to 3-0-0 — it's the second straight year in which Saint Mary's has opened with three straight wins. The Cardinals have not started the season 4-0-0 since 2009. … Saint Mary's win over Ripon last Sunday was also its second straight 3-0 victory, having dropped Marian by the same count two days earlier. … Jordyn Matthews (Seattle, Wash.) posted her second straight two-goal game against Ripon last Sunday, scoring a pair of unassisted second-half tallies. … Matthews has now scored in all three of the Cardinals' games this season and leads the team with five goals and 10 points. … Mary Loy (Burien, Wash.) scored Saint Mary's other goal against Ripon last Sunday — it was her second of the season, and leaves her second to Matthews in both goals (2) and points (5). … Kendall Archer (Draper, Utah) owns Saint Mary's other goal — scoring against Marian on Sept. 6 — while Loy, Kassie Arriaga (Chula Vista, Calif.), and Genesis Capacio (Las Vegas, Nev.) have accounted for SMU's three assists. … Matthews scored the Cardinals' first goal of the season, finding the back of the net at 31:39 of the opening half against Edgewood on Aug. 30. It was not only the Cardinals' first goal of the season, but also the first of Matthews' SMU career. … Loy's goal against Edgewood on Aug. 30 was her fifth game-winning goal in the last two seasons. She led the Cardinals with four game-winners a year ago. … Gabriella Pederson (Chaska, Minn.) stopped both shots she faced in both of the Cardinals' games last weekend en route to her first and second shutouts of the season — and eighth and ninth of her collegiate career. … Pederson has played every minute in goal for the Cardinals through three games, compiling a 0.33 goals-against-average and an .800 save percentage. … Saint Mary's has held its first three opponents to just five shots on goal. … Saint Mary's has scored five of its eight goals in the second half, while the lone goal SMU's opponents have scored also came after the halftime break. … With their 3-0 win over Ripon last Sunday, Saint Mary's has now outscored the Red Hawks 30-8 in their last nine meetings. … Saint Mary's 2-1 win over Edgewood on Aug. 30 marked the third straight year in which the Cardinals have won their season opener. … Saint Mary's is coming off an 8-10-0 showing a year ago, including winning three of their last five games. … The Cardinals' eight wins in 2018 were the most since Saint Mary's finished 9-8-1 in 2009. … The Cardinals, 2-0-0 in nonconference play this season, closed the 2018 season 6-1 in nonconference play — the lone blemish a 2-0 loss to nationally ranked Loras on Sept. 8
 
Scouting The Martin Luther Knights:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• The Knights' play five of their first seven games on their home field — the lone exceptions, a season-opening 1-0 loss at Buena Vista and Saturday's showdown against Saint Mary's. … After being shut out in their season-opening against BVU, Martin Luther erupted for five goals in beating North Central 5-0 on Sept. 10, and followed that up with a 4-0 whitewash of Mount Mary on Friday. … Martin Luther's five goals against North Central came from five different players — Carissa Friebe, Nicole Porter, Erika Rosenbaum, Emily Witkowski, and Francis Santos Hernandez. … Lydia Bitter netted a pair of goals and Tabitha Vannieuwenhoven and Emily Witkowski scored the other two in Friday's 4-0 win over Mount Mary. … Bitter and Witkowski share the team lead in goals with two each, while Avery Broyles boasts a team-best three assists. … Bitter, Witkowski and Friebe all lead the team with four points, one more than Boyes and Vannieuwenhoven. … Mollie Fischer has played every minute in goal for the Knights, compiling a 0.33 goals-against-average and a .909 save percentage. … Fischer stopped three shots in Martin Luther's season-opening loss to Buena Vista, while making six saves in recording the shutout against North Central and needing to stop just one shot in her second straight shutout Friday vs. Mount Mary. … Martin Luther has scored five of its nine goals in the first half, while the lone goal the Knights have allowed was a second-half tally.