ST. PAUL, Minn. — One thing has been missing from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference post-season tournament since its inception in 2003 — the Saint Mary's University women's soccer team.
 
That all changed on Saturday.
 
Despite falling to Hamline 1-0, the Cardinals still managed to punch their first-ever ticket into the conference tournament, joining St. Catherine and Saint Benedict, who also clinched berths on Saturday.
 
With the loss to Hamline Saturday, the Cardinals slipped to 6-2-1 (19 points) and into third place in the standings, three points back of league-leading St. Catherine (7-1-1) and one point back of second-place Saint Benedict (6-1-2) with two games remaining.
 
Saturday's matchup against Hamline proved to be a game of quantity vs. quality, as Saint Mary's owned a commanding lead in shots attempted (24-4) and shots on goal (13-2). The Pipers, however, made the most of its opportunities, scoring on one of those two shots on goal, while the Cardinals could not get one past HU goalkeeper Lauren Sicora.
 
After a scoreless first half, Hamline broke through eight minutes into the second half, as Caley Schmitt beat Madison Mora (Honolulu, Hawaii) for the game's only goal.
 
The Cardinals close out regular-season play with a road game at Macalester (4-4-1, 13 points) on Wednesday and a home contest vs. St. Scholastica (3-4-2, 11 points) on Friday.