WINONA, Minn. — Here's quick-hit, by-the-numbers preview of the 2021 Saint Mary's University women's soccer team.
 
Head coach:
Nick Rizzo (2nd season)
 
A Year Ago:
• 3-2-1 Overall (pandemic-shortened season, played in spring, 2021)
 
Returners To Watch:
• Jordyn Matthews (Sr., Forward | Spring 2021: 6 GP, 3 G, 1 A, 7 Pts; Fall 2019: 18 GP, 15 G, 3 A, 33 Pts … First-Team All-MIAC in 2019. … Led the team in both goals (15) and points (33) in 2019, and in goals (3) and points (7) in spring 2021. … Posted five multiple-goal games in 2019. … Had at least one point in four of team's six games in spring 2021. … Has scored four game-winning goals in the Cardinals' last 24 contests. … 
• Kassie Arriaga (Sr., Forward | Spring 2021: 6 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 4 Pts; Fall 2019: 17 GP, 5 G, 1 A, 11 Pts. … Was second on team in assists (2) and points (4) in spring 2021, after finishing sophomore campaign in 2019 second on the team in goals (5) and points (11). … Has scored 11 career goals — including five in each of her first two seasons.
• Emily Schaffer (So., Midfield | Spring 2021: 0 G, 3 A, 3 Pts; Led Cardinals in assists during spring 2021 season with three. … Recorded first collegiate multiple-point game with a pair of assists vs. Concordia on April 17, 2021). 
 
By The Numbers:
• 0: Alexis Nguyen (West Corvina, Calif.) stopped both Gustavus shots she faced on May 2, 2021 en route to her first collegiate complete-game shutout. The sophomore shared SMU's 1-0 shutout win over Augsburg on April 18 with Arriaga. 
• 1: The Cardinals' 1-0 win over Augsburg on April 11, 2021 was not only the Cardinals' first win of the season, but it was also Rizzo's first win as SMU's head coach.
• 3: Jordyn Matthews (Seattle, Wash.) — who led the team with 15 goals in 2019 — scored three of SMU's six goals during the six-game, pandemic-shortened 2021 spring season.
• 5: Saint Mary's seven goals during the 2021 spring season came from five different players. Jordyn Matthews (Seattle, Wash.) scored three times, while Kassie Arriaga (Chula Vista, Calif.), Nicole Thompson (Riverside, Calif.), Kaley Manglitz (Onalaska, Wis.), and Mary Loy (Burien, Wash.) had the other four.
 
Did You Know?:
• Jordyn Matthews (Seattle, Wash.) netted the game-winning goal and the game-tying goal in back-to-back games in 2021, scoring five minutes into overtime in a 2-1 win over Concordia on April 17 and tallying the game-tying goal with 17 seconds remaining in regulation in SMU's 1-1 tie at Saint Benedict on April 25.
 
Did You Know, Part II?:
• Emily Schaffer (Hampton, Minn.), who led the team in assists with three during the spring 2021 season, recorded assists on both SMU goals against Concordia on April 17, giving the sophomore her first collegiate multiple-point game.
 
Did You Know, Part III?:
• The Cardinals' 3-0 win over Gustavus on May 2, 2021 snapped a nine-game winless streak (0-7-2) against the Gusties, dating back to a 1-0, double-overtime win on Sept. 29, 2010. Saint Mary's 1-0 win over Augsburg on April 11, meanwhile, ended the Cardinals' 10-game losing streak against the Auggies.