• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals suffered their first conference loss of the season last Saturday, falling to Augsburg 1-0. The loss dropped SMU to 4-1-1 in the conference standings and 10-2-1 overall.
• LOGJAM AT THE TOP: Despite their 1-0 loss to Augsburg last Saturday, the Cardinals maintained a share of the league lead in the conference standings. SMU, Augsburg, and St. Catherine are all tied for first at 4-1-1 with five MIAC games remaining. Saint Mary's is looking for its first regular-season conference title since 1991.
• TOUGH TO BEAT: Saint Mary's 10-1-1 start to the season was its best start since opening the 1991 season 11-1-0. That 1991 team went on to finish 14-4-0 and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament, falling to UC-San Diego in the opening round. … The Cardinals also opened the 1988 season 11-1-0 — it's the best 12-game start in program history.
• CLOSE CALLS: The Cardinals' last eight games have all been decided by one goal or less — including back-to-back-to-back-to-back 1-0 decisions in their last four contests. SMU has beaten Carleton (1-0), St. Catherine (2-1), Gustavus (1-0), Concordia (1-0), and UW-River Falls, lost to UW-Stout (2-1) and Augsburg (1-0), and tied Saint Benedict (0-0).
• WORKING OVERTIME: The Cardinals have played three overtime games this season, going 2-0-1. Saint Mary's played four overtime games in 2019 — with all four going into a second OT.
• NONE BETTER: As a team, the Cardinals lead all MIAC teams in goals (30), assists (23), points (83), and goals-against-average (0.30). Individually, Alexis Nguyen's (West Corvina, Calif.) 0.11 goals-against-average and .974 save percentage lead the league. Her 0.11 GAA ranks No. 2 in all of NCAA Division III and her .974 save percentage is No. 1 in the nation. … Matthews leads the league in shots (52) and is second in goals (7) and points (17). … Genesis Capacio (Las Vegas, Nev.) is sitting second in the MIAC in assists with five.
• CONFERENCE HONORS: Nguyen and Matthews have both been named MIAC Athlete of the Week this season — Nguyen earning the honor on Sept. 20 and Matthews following suit one week later.
• ONE GOT PAST: St. Catherine's goal in the game's 72nd minute on Sept. 26 was the first allowed by the Cardinals this season — ending a span of 722:13 scoreless minutes. … UW-Stout's goal in the fourth minute the following day, meanwhile, marked the first time all season the Cardinals have not scored first.
• LEADER OF THE PACK: Matthews enters Tuesday's game against St. Olaf leading the team in goals with seven, one more than Haddy Falkman (Waconia, Minn.), and three in front of Kassie Arriaga (Chula Vista, Calif.). … Capacio owns the team lead in assists with five — two more than Matthews, Falkman, and Kaley Manglitz (Onalaska, Wis.) — while Matthews and Falkman are the team-leaders in points with 17 and 15, respectively.
• DOUBLING UP: Saint Mary's has had six players score two goals in a game this season — a feat Matthews has achieved twice. Falkman and Elisia Jensen (Gig Harbor, Wash.) achieved the feat against Ripon on Sept. 12, while Matthews, Arriaga, Brooklyn McKinney (Thornton, Colo.), and Megan Trindle (Castle Rock, Colo.) all posted two-goal games against Martin Luther on Sept. 6. It was the first career two-goal game for Arriaga, McKinney, Trindle, Falkman, and Jensen.
• FIRST GOALS: The Cardinals have had six players score their first collegiate goals this season. Wachter netted the 2 OT game-winner against UW-River Falls last Wednesday; Falkman and McKinney scored the Cardinals' two goals in their season-opening win over UW-Superior; Mikayla McCart (Council Bluffs, Iowa) tallied the game's only goal in SMU's win over Coe; and Trindle and Jenna Zimmer (Calgary, Alberta) tallied their first career goals in SMU's 11-0 win over Martin Luther on Sept. 6.
• THE BRICK WALL: Nguyen — who stopped a career-high 10 shots in SMU's 2-1 win over St. Catherine on Sept.26 — posted her sixth shutout of the season against Concordia on Oct. 1, stopping both CC shots. … Nguyen has now stopped 38 of the 39 shots she's faced for a 0.11 goals-against-average and .974 save percentage.
• SHUTOUT NO. 1: Madison Mora (Honolulu, Hawaii) stopped all five UW-River Falls shots last Wednesday en route to her first collegiate shutout — and her first win as a Cardinal.
• TOTAL DOMINATION: The Cardinals hold a commanding 218-101 advantage in shots attempted through 13 games — including a 117-52 edge in shots on goal. Saint Mary's attempted a season-high 40 shots against Ripon on Sept. 12, while their 24 shots on goal against the Red Hawks were also a season high. … Matthews — who took a season-high 10 shots against Coe on Sept. 4 — leads the team with 52 shots, including 26 on goal.
• STRIKING FAST: Saint Mary's has scored at least one goal in the first half in seven of its 13 games this season. SMU has outscored its opponents 17-2 in the first half and 13-2 in the second.
• BACK-TO-BACK: With their 1-0 overtime win over Gustavus on Sept. 29, the Cardinals have now shut out Gustavus in each of the teams' last two meetings, having beaten GAC 3-0 on May 2, 2021.
• FIT TO BE TIED: With their 0-0, double-overtime tie against Saint Benedict on Sept. 18, the Cardinals and Bennies have now played to a draw in each of their last two meetings, having battled to a 1-1 deadlock a year ago.
• SNAPPED: The Cardinals' 2-1 win over St. Catherine on Sept. 26 put an end to a nine-game losing streak against the Wildcats, dating back to a 3-1 win on Oct. 15, 2011.
• NAILBITERS: With their 1-0 win over Carleton on Sept. 14, the Cardinals are now 2-0-1 in their last three meetings with the Knights — with all three games being decided by one goal or less. Along with their 1-0 win, SMU beat Carleton 3-2 in 2 overtimes in 2018, and battled to a 1-1, double-overtime draw in 2019.
• DOUBLE DIGITS: Saint Mary's 11-goal outburst in its 11-0 win over Martin Luther on Sept. 6 marked the first time since beating Northland 10-0 on Sept. 9, 2017 that the Cardinals scored 10 or more goals in a game. … SMU's 11 goals were the most since beating UW-Platteville 11-0 on Sept. 7, 1996 and just three goals shy of the school record, set in a 14-0 win over Saint Benedict on Oct. 22, 1986. … Saint Mary's has scored 10 or more goals in a game seven times in program history.
• PERFECTION: With their 11-0 win over Martin Luther on Sept. 6, the Cardinals improved to 7-0-0 all-time against MLC and have outscored the Knights by a combined 45-5. |
• FOR THE RECORD: The Oles came up empty in their MIAC showdown against Saint Benedict on Saturday, falling to the Bennies 2-0. St. Olaf's loss to CSB dropped the Oles to 2-4-0 in conference play and 4-6-1 overall.
• IN A SLUMP: St. Olaf heads into Tuesday's matchup against Saint Mary's mired in a three-game losing streak, having dropped consecutive games to St. Scholastica, Carleton, and Saint Benedict. The Oles have not scored a goal during their current slide, having been outscored by a combined 4-0.
• HOT AND COLD: St. Olaf has scored just three goals in its six losses this season — and have been shut out four times. On the flip side, the Oles have netted 11 goals in their four wins, including three goals in beating Hamline 3-0 and a season-high four goals in drubbing Finlandia 4-0.
• POURING IN GOALS: Tessa Anderson has scored a team-high six goals, accounting for nearly half of the Oles' 15 goals this season. Hayley Hoffmann is the only other Ole to score more than one goal this season, finding the back of the net twice. Lucia Ranallo, Grace Maxwell, Anna Newby, Faith Yi, Addison Cortinas, Mae Guetschow, and Lily Hanlon own St. Olaf's other seven goals.
• LENDING A HAND: Ranallo leads the team in assists with two. Hoffmann, Maxwell, Newby, Yi, Marissa Lindeman, and Kate Oehm have all recorded one helper.
• THE GAME-WINNER: Anderson, Hoffmann, Ranello, and Guetschow own St. Olaf's four game-winning goals this season.
• BUSY BETWEEN THE PIPES: Brynne Davis has started 10 of the Oles' 11 games in goal, compiling a 1.34 goals-against-average and a .759 save percentage. Davis has stopped 44 of the 58 shots she's faced. … Grace Sprangers (0.00 GAA, .000 save %, 68:02) and Maddie Black (0.00 GAA, .000 save %, 21:58) have also see time between the pipes for St. Olaf.
• HOME SWEET HOME: The Oles have recorded three of their four wins on their home field. The Oles are 3-2-0 at home, while going just 1-4-1 on the road. Beginning with Tuesday's game at Saint Mary's, St. Olaf plays three of its final five games away from home.
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