• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals pushed their league-leading conference record to 5-1-1 with last Tuesday's 3-1 win over St. Olaf. The victory also improved Saint Mary's overall mark to 11-2-1.
• THREE'S COMPANY: Saint Mary's three goals against St. Olaf last Tuesday came from three different players — Claire Fletcher (Woodbury, Minn.), Haddy Falkman (Waconia, Minn.), and Jordyn Matthews (Seattle, Wash.)
• THINNING OUT AT THE TOP: With their 3-1 win over St. Olaf last Tuesday, the Cardinals maintained a share of the league lead with St. Catherine with four MIAC games remaining. SMU and SCU are both tied at 5-1-1 (16 points), followed by Saint Benedict (4-1-2, 14), Augsburg (4-2-1, 13), Carleton (4-3-0, 12), Macalester (3-3-1, 10), and St. Scholastica (3-3-1, 10). … Saint Mary's is looking for its first regular-season conference title since 1991.
• RACE TO 11: Saint Mary's 11 wins this season mark the first time a Cardinal team has collected 11 wins since 2005, when they closed out the year 13-5-0. … 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' 3-1 win over St. Olaf last Tuesday snapped a streak of eight straight games decided by one goal or less — including back-to-back-to-back-to-back 1-0 decisions. In those eight games, SMU beat 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).
• NONE BETTER: As a team, the Cardinals lead all MIAC teams in goals (33), assists (26), points (92), and goals-against-average (0.35). 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 points (20) and shots (58), shares the team lead in goals (8), and is tied for second in assists (4). … Genesis Capacio (Las Vegas, Nev.) shares the league lead in assists (5) and Haddy Falkman (Waconia, Minn.) is second in the conference in goals (7).
• 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.
• FEW GET 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. … St. Olaf's second-half goal last Tuesday was just the second conference goal allowed by the Cardinals this season.
• LEADER OF THE PACK: Matthews enters Saturday's game against Bethel leading the team in goals with eight, one more than Falkman, and four in front of Kassie Arriaga (Chula Vista, Calif.). … Capacio owns the team lead in assists with five — one more than Matthews, and two in front of Falkman, Arriaga, and Kaley Manglitz (Onalaska, Wis.) — while Matthews and Falkman are the team-leaders in points with 20 and 17, 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.
• IN GOAL FIRSTS: Madison Mora (Honolulu, Hawaii) stopped all five UW-River Falls shots on Oct. 6 en route to her first collegiate shutout — and her first win as a Cardinal. … Mora recorded a career-high in saves against St. Olaf last Tuesday, stopping eight Ole shots.
• 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.
• TOTAL DOMINATION: The Cardinals hold a commanding 230-120 advantage in shots attempted through 14 games — including a 125-61 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 58 shots, including 30 on goal.
• STRIKING FAST: Saint Mary's has scored at least one goal in the first half in eight of its 14 games this season. SMU has outscored its opponents 18-2 in the first half and 15-3 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 Royals enter Saturday's road showdown with Saint Mary's sitting at 5-8-0 overall, including a 3-4-0 record in conference play. The Royals have four MIAC contests remaining — back-to-back road games at Saint Mary's (Saturday) and Gustavus (Oct. 23), home vs. Concordia (Oct. 27), and on the road at Augsburg (Oct. 30).
• TOUGH STRETCH: Bethel has dropped its last four contests, including allowing three goals in falling to Carleton (3-1) and Saint Benedict (3-2) in its last two games. BU has been outscored 9-2 during its current four-game slide.
• OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Lauren Davis has scored a team-high four goals, one more than Rachel Waterman and Kelsey Bergan. Abby Swanda owns two goals, and Katie O'Neill and Claire Radatz have scored BU's other two.
• ASSISTING THE CAUSE: Waterman and Bella Heckmann share the team's top spot in assists with three each, followed by Callie Beck, who has a pair of helpers.
• MAKING THEIR POINT: Waterman and Davis are the team's points leaders with nine each, three more than Bergan and four in front of Swanda.
• GAME-WINNERS: David has scored two of BU's five game-winning goals, with Waterman, O'Neill, and Radatz netting the other three.
• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Izzy Smith has started all 13 games in goal for the Royals — and has played all by 48:29 minutes between the pipes. Smith has compiled a 1.93 goals-against-average and a .786 save percentage. She has stopped a league-high 88 shots.
• COMING UP EMPTY: Bethel has bene shut out in five of its eight losses this season, and the Royals have been outscored by a combined 22-3 in its eight setbacks.
• HOME COOKING: The Royals have recorded three of their five wins on their home field. BU is 3-3-0 at home, while going 2-5-0 on the road.
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