SUPERIOR, Wis. — There were plenty of firsts to go around for the Saint Mary's University women's soccer team Wednesday afternoon against UW-Superior.
 
• The Cardinals scored their first goal of the season (in the first half, no less).
 
• Haddy Falkman (Waconia, Minn.) and Brooklyn McKinney (Thornton, Colo.) both netted the first goals of their collegiate careers.
 
• And, most importantly, the Cardinals notched their first win of the season in their first game of 2021.
 
The Cardinals scored single goals in each half — Falkman's early in the first and McKinney's late in the second — as Saint Mary's cruised to a 2-0 victory over the Yellowjackets.
 
Falkman got the Cardinals off and running in the fifth minute, taking a feed from Jordyn Matthews (Seattle, Wash.) and rifling a shot past UW-Superior goalkeeper Jenna Lang for the early 1-0 advantage.
 
Saint Mary's dominated the game's opening 45 minutes, holding a commanding 8-1 advantage in shots attempted — including a 4-0 edge in shots on goal.
 
It was more of the same in the second half, as the Cardinals outshot the Yellowjackets 10-1 and held a 4-1 advantage in shots on goal.
 
One of those four SMU shots on goal in the second half came off the foot of McKinney, who beat Lang with a shot into the upper right-hand corner with 15:22 remaining in regulation. Falkman picked up the assist on McKinney's first collegiate tally.
 
 Alexis Nguyen (West Corvina, Calif.) picked up the shutout in goal for the Cardinals, stopping the Yellowjackets' lone shot on goal, which came off the foot of Claire Smith three minutes into the second half.
 
The Cardinals (1-0-0 overall) are back in action — and back on the road — on Saturday, heading to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a 1 p.m. nonconference game against Coe.