• OT THRILLER: Genesis Capacio (Las Vegas, Nev.) scored the game's only goal three minutes into overtime, as the Cardinals extended their MIAC unbeaten streak to four (3-0-1) with a 1-0 victory over Gustavus Wednesday. Capacio's goal was her first of the season and second of her collegiate career.
• TOUGH TO BEAT: Saint Mary's — which had its season-opening eight-game unbeaten streak snapped with last Sunday's 2-1 loss to UW-Stout — improved to 8-1-1 overall with Wednesday's 1-0 overtime win over Gustavus. At 8-1-1, SMU is off to its best start to a season since going 8-1-1 in 2006 — it's also the fourth-best start in program history.
• CLOSE CALLS: The Cardinals' last five games have all been decided by one goal or less. SMU has beaten Carleton (1-0), St. Catherine (2-1), and Gustavus (1-0), lost to UW-Stout (2-1), and tied Saint Benedict (0-0).
• TOP OF THE HEAP: The Cardinals head into Saturday's matchup against Concordia sitting atop the MIAC standings with 10 points (3-0-1), one point in front of Bethel (3-1-0) and three in front of Saint Benedict (2-1-1). … Individually, Alexis Nguyen's (West Corvina, Calif.) 0.13 goals-against-average and .968 save percentage lead the league, as done Jordyn Matthews' (Seattle, Wash.) 42 shots. Matthews and Haddy Falkman (Waconia, Minn.) are second in the MIAC in goals (6) and points (15), and Capacio is No. 2 in assists (4).
• ONE GOT PAST: St. Catherine's goal in the game's 72nd minute last Saturday 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.
• RED-HOT: Jordyn Matthews scored all three of the Cardinals' goals last weekend, netting both goals in the Cardinals' 2-1 win over St. Catherine last Saturday, and netted SMU's lone tally the its 2-1 loss to UW-Stout the following day.
• CONFERENCE HONORS: With her three goals in SMU's 2-1 win over St. Catherine and 2-1 loss to UW-Stout, Matthews was named MIAC Athlete of the Week on Sept. 27. It was the second straight AOW honor for the Cardinals — Alexis Nguyen (West Corvina, Calif.) was named MIAC Athlete of the Week on Sept. 20, after stopping all six shots she faced in back-to-back shutouts against Carleton and Saint Benedict.
• LEADER OF THE PACK: With her three goals last weekend, Matthews moved into a tie for the team lead in goals (6) with Falkman, two goals in front of Kassie Arriaga (Chula Vista, Calif.). … Capacio owns the team lead in assists with four — one more than Matthews, Falkman, and Kaley Manglitz (Onalaska, Wis.) — while Falkman and Matthews share the team lead with 15 points.
• DOUBLING UP: Saint Mary's has had six players score two goals in a game this season — a feat Jordyn Matthews (Seattle, Wash.)  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.
• CAREER FIRSTS: The Cardinals have had five players score their first collegiate goals this season. 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 Monday's 11-0 win over Martin Luther.
• THE BRICK WALL: Alexis Nguyen — who stopped a career-high 10 shots in SMU's 2-1 win over St. Catherine last Saturday — posted her fifth shutout of the season against Gustavus Wednesday, stopping all five GAC shots. … Nguyen has now stopped 30 of the 31 shots she's faced for a 0.13 goals-against-average and .968 save percentage.
• DOUBLE DIGITS: Saint Mary's 11-goal outburst in its 11-0 win over Martin Luther last Monday 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.
• TOTAL DOMINATION: The Cardinals hold a commanding 176-69 advantage in shots attempted through 10 games — including a 99-36 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 42 shots, including 22 on goal.
• STRIKING FAST: Saint Mary's has scored at least one goal in the first half in seven of its 10 games this season. SMU has outscored its opponents 17-2 in the first half and 11-1 in the second.
• BACK-TO-BACK: With their 1-0 overtime win over Gustavus Wednesday, the Cardinals have now shut out Gustavus in each of the teams' last two meetings, having beaten GAC 3-0 on May 2, 2021.
• TOUGH SLATE: With their 2-1 win over St. Catherine last Saturday, Saint Mary's has now faced three teams that qualified for the 2019 MIAC Tournament in their first three MIAC games this season. SMU is 2-0-1 against those three.
• 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 last Saturday 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.
• 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. |
• CLOSE CALL: Saint Benedict scored the game's only goal with less than 12 minutes remining in regulation in dealing the Cobbers a 1-0 conference loss Wednesday.
• STUCK IN A RUT: Wednesday's loss to Saint Benedict was the Cobbers' fourth straight setback. Concordia has been outscored 7-2 in that span, sandwiching 1-0 losses to Macalester and Saint Benedict around a 2-1 loss to Macalester and a 3-1 setback v. Carleton.
• ON THE ROAD: The Cobbers play three of their next four games on the road, the lone home contest an Oct. 9 matchup against Gustavus. All three of CC's wins this season have come on their home field — the Cobbers are 0-4 away from Jake Christiansen Stadium.
• SCORING LEADER: Samantha Holmberg has scored a team-leading five goals and also leads the Cobbers' with 10 points. Amber Welybe is second to Holmberg with three goals, followed by Megan Barnick and Samantha Dalsin with two each.
• GIVING AN ASSIST: Lauren Tschider has accounted for three of the team's seven assists, one more than Welybe, while Barnick and Dalsin own CC's other two helpers.
• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Breanna Nelson has started all 10 games in goal for the Cobbers, compiling a 1.69 goals-against-average and a .742 save percentage. … Nelson has stopped 46 of the 62 shots she's faced and owns a pair of shutouts. … Kaitlin Petrich has appeared in two games in goal, stopping six of eight shots in 44:08 minutes.
• AS A TEAM: The Cobbers have scored 14 goals in 10 games, while their opponents have netted 18. … CC and its opponents have both attempted 101 shots, with the opposition holding a 70-58 edge in shots on goal.
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