COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. — After giving up a pair of first-half goals in falling to Concordia 3-1 last Sunday, the Saint Mary's University men's soccer team went on the defensive in the first half of its showdown against Saint John's Wednesday.
 
And it worked.
 
It also worked in the second half … and the first overtime … and the second overtime.
 
Problem was, Saint John's implemented a similar defensive tactic — keeping the Cardinals off the scoreboard for the entire 110 minutes — as the two teams battled to a 0-0 deadlock at Haws Field.
 
Saint Mary's — which had not recorded a 0-0 stalemate since Oct. 24, 2017, when SMU and Carleton played to a 0-0 draw — had the upper hand in the first half, holding a 10-2 edge in shots attempted and a 2-1 advantage in shots on goal. SJU turned up the offensive heat a bit over the second 45-minute period, attempting nine shots to the Cardinals' two — including a 3-1 edge in shots on goal — but at the end of regulation, neither team had anything to show for their efforts.
 
SJU goalkeeper Jake Swanson had to make the lone save in the two 10-minute overtime periods, stopping SMU's Cerim Palislamovic (Jacksonville, Fla.) late in the first overtime.
 
Saint Mary's Daniel Sessler (Brookfield, Ill.) matched his SJU counterpart save-for-save, stopping all four Johnnie shots for his first collegiate shutout.
 
The Cardinals (1-2-1 overall) will get another shot at the Johnnies on Sunday, as the two teams head to SMU's Ochrymowycz Field for a 4 p.m. rematch.