WINONA, Minn. — Madison Mora (Honolulu, Hawaii) may have only played in five games this season — including just one start —  but Tuesday afternoon, the Saint Mary's sophomore goalkeeper played like a sage veteran.
 
Mora stopped a career-high eight shots — including a handful of the highlight-reel variety — in leading the Cardinal women's soccer team to a 3-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over St. Olaf at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Cardinals — who had played eight straight games decided by one goal or less entering Tuesday's contest — struck early with a "bar-down" goal off the foot of Claire Fletcher (Woodbury, Minn.) with assists coming from both Kassie Arriaga (Chula Vista, Calif.) and Jordyn Matthews (Seattle, Wash.).
 
Saint Mary's would maintain that one-goal advantage into the halftime break, despite the fact that St. Olaf held a 9-4 advantage in shots attempted.
 
Saint Mary's turned up the offensive heat in the second half, as Haddy Falkman (Waconia, Minn.)  defied physics and found the back of the net from a near-impossible angle just seven minutes into the half to push the lead to 2-0. Arriaga collected her second assist of the game on Falkman's seventh goal of the season.
 
Nine minutes later, the Cardinals' lead ballooned to 3-0, as Matthews "put a little bend on it" and sniped a free-kick goal over the St. Olaf wall and past Ole goalkeeper Maddie Black.
           
St. Olaf thwarted Mora's shutout bid when midfielder Lucia Ranallo found the back of the net in the 76th minute.
 
That would be the only goal the Oles would get past Mora, who picked up her second win of the season with her eight-save effort.
 
Saint Mary's (5-1-1 MIAC, 11-2-1 overall) — which maintained its stranglehold on the top spot in the conference standings — is back in action Saturday, entertaining Bethel in a 3 p.m. conference matchup at Ochrymowycz Field.