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 host Augsburg in a 1 p.m. MIAC matchup at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1-0 MIAC, 3-4-0 Overall) vs. Augsburg Auggies (0-2-0 MIAC, 4-3-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's­­—September 25, 2019 * Indianola, Iowa: Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) scored both Cardinal goals, as Saint Mary's dropped a 5-2 nonconference decision to Simpson | Recap
• Augsburg—September 21, 2019 * Minneapolis, Minn.: Lionel Vang tied the game with a set-piece goal in the 78th minute, but St. Thomas scored the game-winning goal 1:17 into the first overtime to lift the Tommies to a 2-1 win at Edor Nelson Field | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg — Their Last Meeting:
• September 22, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Just three days after surrendering the game's only goal less than two minutes into the second overtime of a 1-0 loss to Loras, the Cardinals were snake-bit again — as Augsburg broke a 1-1 tie six minutes into the first extra session in leading the Auggies to a 2-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Tuesday, heading to Northfield, Minn., for a 4 p.m. showdown against St. Olaf.
• Augsburg: The Auggies return home to Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis, Minn., on Tuesday, entertaining Gustavus in a 7:30 p.m. MIAC matchup.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Simpson was the third straight road contest for the Cardinals — their longest road stretch of the season. … Saint Mary's 5-2 loss to Simpson Wednesday marked the first time this season the outcome was not decided by shutout. The Cardinals opened the season 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. … Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) scored both of Saint Mary's goals in Wednesday's loss to Simpson — it was the sophomore's first collegiate multiple-goal game. … 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 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 Saturday's conference showdown against Augsburg leading the team in both goals (4) and points (11). … Clements and Szymanski are second to Balsiger with three goals, one more than both Jackson and Johnluke Nahorski (Minnetonka, Minn.). … Bracken is the team's assist leader with four, one more than Balsiger. … Balsiger and Bracken have accounted for seven of the Cardinals' 12 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. … Jimmy Perreault (Batavia, Ill.) made a career-high six saves against Simpson on Wednesday. … Sam Morris (Hockinson, Wash.) made his first collegiate start in goal against Gustavus last Saturday, 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 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' four goalkeepers have combined to post a 1.71 goals-against-average and a .684 save percentage. … The Cardinals have scored six goals in the first half, while netting 12 after halftime. On the flip side, eight of the 12 goals allowed by the Cardinals have come in the second half. … 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 Augsburg Auggies:
2019 Roster | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Statistics
• Following Saturday's game against Saint Mary's, the Auggies return home to play three straight contests at Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis, Minn. Augsburg is 1-2-0 on its home turf, while going 3-1-1 on the road. … Augsburg's 2-1 overtime loss to St. Thomas last Saturday pushed the Auggies' losing streak to three straight. … Augsburg has scored one goal in each game during its current three-game slide ­— sandwiching 2-1 losses to Luther and St. Thomas around a 4-1 setback at the hands of Macalester. … The Auggies' 2-1 loss to Luther on Sept. 13 put an end to Augsburg's season-opening five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1). … Lionel Vang — who scored the game-tying goal in last Saturday's 2-1 overtime loss to St. Thomas — leads the Auggies in all three offensive categories — goals (4), assists (4), and points (12). … Daniel Hedstrom, Nick Zuchowski, and Antonio Magadan are all second to Vang with two goals each, while Nick Vergara, Hsinku Lay, and Johnny Vu have netted the Auggies' other three goals.  … Both of Hedstrom's goals this season have been game-winners. … The Auggies have used three different goalkeepers, led by Garrett Kaelin, who has compiled a 1.92 goals-against-average and a .676 save percentage in seven starts. Zachary Berg (4 GP, 0.50 GAA, .875 save %) and Ethan Derks (1 GP, 0.00 GAA, .000 save %) have also see time between the pipes for Augsburg. … Augsburg has scored 11 of its 13 goals in the second half, while the Auggies' opponents have netted eight of their 12 tallies before the halftime break. … Five of Augsburg's eight games have been decided by one goal or less — including two that have gone into overtime. The Auggies battled Puget Sound to a season-opening 0-0 draw on Aug. 30, while falling to St. Thomas in OT last Saturday.