• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals pushed their league-leading conference record to 6-1-1 with last week's 3-1 wins over St. Olaf and Bethel. The victories also improved Saint Mary's overall mark to 12-2-1.
• THREE'S COMPANY: Saint Mary's scored three goals in each of its two games last week. The Cardinals' 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.). The Cardinals' three goals three days later also came from three different players — Falkman, Elisia Jensen (Gig Harbor, Wash.) and Brooklyn McKinney (Thornton, Colo.)
• THINNING OUT AT THE TOP: With their 3-1 win over Bethel last Saturday, the Cardinals maintained a share of the league lead with St. Catherine with three MIAC games remaining. SMU and SCU are both tied at 6-1-1 (19 points), followed by Saint Benedict (5-1-2, 17), Augsburg (4-2-1, 13), Macalester (4-3-1, 13), Carleton (4-4-0, 12), Gustavus (4-4-0, 12), and St. Scholastica (3-4-1, 10). … A win over Hamline Saturday would secure the Cardinals' first MIAC Tournament berth in program history. … Saint Mary's is looking for its first regular-season conference title since 1991.
• RACE TO 12: Saint Mary's 12 wins this season mark the first time a Cardinal team has collected 12 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).
• A PK RARITY: Falkman's goal in the 14th minute was the Cardinal women's soccer team's first penalty kick attempt of the season — and their first since Kassie Arriaga (Chula Vista, Calif.) scored on a PK against Coe on Sept. 9, 2018, a span of 36 games without a penalty kick attempt.
• NONE BETTER: As a team, the Cardinals lead all MIAC teams in goals (36), assists (28), points (100), and goals-against-average (0.39). 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 (21) and shots (62), shares the MIAC lead in goals (8) with teammate Haddy Falkman (Waconia, Minn.), and is tied for second in assists (5) with teammate Genesis Capacio (Las Vegas, Nev.).
• 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. … The Cardinals have allowed just three goals in eight conference games.
• LEADER OF THE PACK: Matthews and Falkman enter Saturday's game against Hamline leading the team in goals with eight each, three in front of McKinney. … Capacio and Matthews share the team lead in assists with five, one in front of Falkman, and two better than Kassie Arriaga (Chula Vista, Calif.), and Kaley Manglitz (Onalaska, Wis.) — while Matthews and Falkman are also the team-leaders in points with 21 and 20, 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 on Oct. 12, 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 245-124 advantage in shots attempted through 15 games — including a 134-63 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 62 shots, including 32 on goal.
• STRIKING FAST: Saint Mary's has scored at least one goal in the first half in nine of its 15 games this season. SMU has outscored its opponents 20-3 in the first half and 16-3 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 Pipers saw their overall record dip to 6-6-1 with their 3-0 loss to Saint Benedict last Saturday. HU enters Saturday's game against league-leading Saint Mary's sitting at 2-5-1 in conference play.
• BENNIE RECAP: Saint Benedict scored a pair of goals eight minutes apart midway through the second half in dealing Hamline a 3-0 setback. CSB held a commanding 31-6 advantage in shots, including 20-4 in shots on goal.
• HOME SWEET HOME: Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back home games for the Pipers, who are 4-2-0 on their home field this season, while going 2-4-1 away from Patterson Field.
• SCORING IN BUNCHES: Anna Browne heads into Saturday's game against Saint Mary's lead the team with five goals, two more than Calley Schmidt, Maya Dempsey, and Emily Hills, while Ku Gay Tha, Catie Regan, and Tyler Sayles have accounted for HU's other three goals.
• ASSISTING THE CAUSE: Sydni Thompson boasts a team-leading three assists, followed by Schmidt and Cailey Schmitt. Dempsey, Hills, Tha, Carin Currier, and Hannah Schatz all own one assist.
• POINTS LEADERS: Browne leads the Pipers with 10 points, followed by Schmidt with eight, and Dempsey and Hills with seven each.
• HITTING THE WINNER: Hills has scored three of Hamline's six game-winning goals, with Browne, Dempsey, and Sayles netting the other three.
• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Lauren Sicora has started 12 of the Pipers' 13 games in goal, compiling a 1.22 goals-against-average and an .874 save percentage. … Sicora has stopped 97 of the 111 shots she's faced — including a career-high 16-save effort against Saint Benedict last Saturday. Sicora has stopped 30 shots in her last two games, posting a then-career high 14 saves against Carleton four days before her 16-save effort vs. Saint Benedict.
• TOUGH TO STOP: Hamline has outscored its opponents 12-1 during its six wins this season. On the flip side, the Pipers have had trouble keeping their opponents off the scoreboard in their six losses, being outscored 17-5 in those six contests.
• BIG PERFORMANCES: Hamline has scored three or more goals in a game three times — scoring three times against both UW-Stevens Point and Augsburg, and netting a season-high four goals against UW-River Falls. HU's opponents, meanwhile, have scored 3+ goals five games — including a pair of four-goal games.
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