By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's soccer team kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Gustavus for a 1 p.m. matchup against the Gusties.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0-0 MIAC, 3-2-0 Overall) at Gustavus Gusties (1-0-0 MIAC, 5-1-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's­­—September 19, 2019 * Minneapolis, Minn.: The Cardinals erupted for five goals in the first eight minutes of the second half in cruising to a 9-0 nonconference victory over North Central | Recap
• Gustavus—September 18, 2019 * St. Paul, Minn.: Trace Dobson scored the game-winning goal in the 62nd minute, snapping a 1-1 tie and leading the Gusties to a 2-1 win over host St. Thomas in the teams' MIAC opener | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus — Their Last Meeting:
• October 15, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: League-leading Gustavus — which entered its matchup against Saint Mary's riding a season-high five-game winning streak, not to mention a nine-game unbeaten streak (8-0-1) — erupted for three first-half goals and the Cardinals could not recover, falling to the Gusties 4-1 | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals step out of conference play on Wednesday, heading to Indianola, Iowa, for a 6 p.m. showdown against Simpson.
• Gustavus: The Gusties return to their home field in St. Peter, Minn., on Wednesday, squaring off against UW-Superior in a 4 p.m. nonconference contest.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Gustavus is the second of three straight road games for the Cardinals. … With their 9-0 win over North Central Thursday, all five of the Cardinals' games this season have been decided by shutout. Saint Mary's opened the season with a 5-0 win over Marian, followed that up with a 4-0 loss to Loras, a 2-0 win over Edgewood, and a 1-0 loss to Central-Iowa, before last Thursday's decision against the Rams. … … The Cardinals scored a season-high nine goals in their 9-0 rout of North Central Thursday. 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 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. …  Garrett Jackson (West Linn, Ore.) and Jacob Clements (Holmen, Wis.) each posted their first collegiate two-goal games in the Cardinals' win over North Central last Thursday, while Josh Balsiger (Camas, Wash.) Johnluke Nahorski (Minnetonka, Minn.), Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.), and Armin Jasenac (Brooklyn Center, Minn.) scored Saint Mary's other goals. … Jackson's two tallies vs. the Rams were the first two of his Saint Mary's career, while Jasenac's was also a collegiate first. … Saint Mary's has now had a player score two goals three times this season. Along with Jackson and Clements against North Central, Balsiger scored a pair of goals against Marian on Aug. 30. … Balsiger also chipped in a career-best three assists vs. North Central — 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 last Thursday 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 showdown with Gustavus leading the team in both goals (4) and points (11). … Clements is second two Balsiger with three goals, one more than both Jackson and Nahorski. … Bracken is the team's assist leader with four, one more than Balsiger. … Balsiger and Bracken have accounted for seven of the Cardinals' 11 assists 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 — it was his first collegiate goal. … Michael Maniak (Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) and Connor Petrich (Arden Hills, Minn.) combined on the shutout against North Central last Thursday, with Maniac making the lone save in the first half. … Jimmy Perreault (Batavia, Ill.) and Sam Morris (Hockinson, Wash.) 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 did not allow Marian a single shot attempt in their other shutout win, a 5-0, season-opening victory on Aug. 30. … Morris finished with a career-high five saves in the second half of the Cardinals' 1-0 loss to Central-Iowa on Sept. 13. … The Cardinals' four goalkeepers have combined to post a 1.00 goals-against-average and a .706 save percentage. … The Cardinals have scored six goals in the first half, while netting 10 after halftime. On the flip side, four of the five goals allowed by the Cardinals have come in the second half. … The Cardinals ended a 31-game winless streak against Gustavus with a 2-0 victory in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup in 2017. … 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Saturday's conference-opener against Saint Mary's is the second straight home game for the Gusties, who have played four of their last five games on their home turf. … The Gusties head into Saturday's showdown against Saint Mary's having won five of their first six games this season — the lone loss, a 4-3 decision to Central-Iowa on Sept. 15, a loss that snapped GAC's season-opening four-game winning streak. … Gustavus has outscored its opponents 32-6 — including 21-0 in back-to-back-to-back shutout wins over Cornell, Martin Luther, and Crown to open the season. … Gustavus boasts three players who have scored five or more goals through the season's first six games. Cole Schwartz leads the way with eight goals, while Raphael Cattelin and Matt Gibbons have each netted five. … Cattelin leads the team with nine assists, one more than Gibbons, while Schwartz owns a team-high 20 points — followed by Cattelin (19) and Gibbons (18). … Gustavus has gotten goals from 14 different players, while 20 Gusties have recorded at least one point. … Schwartz has netted a pair of game-winning goals, with Cattelin, Gibbons and Trace Dobson scoring the Gusties' other game-winners. … Gustavus has attempted four penalty kicks this season, converting on three of them. … Wesley Sanders has played every minute in goal for the Gusties, compiling a 1.00 goals-against-average and a .739 save percentage. … Sanders has stopped 17 of the 23 shots he's faced through six games. … Gustavus has scored 32 goals this season — 16 in the first half and 16 in the second. GAC's opponents, meanwhile, have netted three goals in each half.