• BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK: The Cardinals picked up their third straight win last Saturday, getting a second-half goal from Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) to beat Simpson 1-0. After opening the season with a 3-0 loss to the University of Dubuque, the Cardinals have answered with wins over Edgewood (3-1), Martin Luther (5-0), and Simpson (1-0).
• STREAKING ALONG: The Cardinals have now put together a three-game winning streak for the second time in three seasons. The last time SMU has won four consecutive games was in 2000, when the Cardinals beat Coe (2-1), Central-Iowa (2-0), Loras (2-0), and St. Thomas (1-0).
• ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Wednesday's game against Carleton is the second straight road contest for the Cardinals, who are 1-1-0 on the road this season.
• HOME SWEET HOME: With their 5-0 win over Martin Luther on Sept. 6, the Cardinals improved to 2-0-0 on their home field this season, having also defeated Edgewood (3-1) at Ochrymowycz Field earlier this year.
• OFFENSIVE RESURGENCE: The Cardinals scored as many goals against Martin Luther on Sept. 6 (5) as they had in all five of the games combined a year ago.
• CAREER FIRSTS: Pendleton, Roberto Bontempi, and Alex Keeler (Antioch, Ill.) all scored their first collegiate goals in the Cardinals' 5-0 win over Martin Luther Monday. … Pendleton netted a pair of goals vs. the Knights for his first career two-goal game. … Jack Hurley (Homewood, Ill.) scored his first collegiate goal in SMU's 3-1 win over Edgewood on Sept. 4.
• CAREER FIRST, PART II: Jacob Wing (Verona, Wis.) earned his first career win — in his first collegiate start — in the Cardinals' 3-1 win over Edgewood last Saturday. Wing made two saves, with the lone goal coming on a penalty kick. … Wing and Connor Petrich (Arden Hills, Minn.) combined on a two-save shutout against Martin Luther Monday. Wing stopped both shots he faced in 71:38, while Petrich did not face a shot in 18:22 of relief.
• KING OF THE PK: Szymanski scored two of Saint Mary's three goals in last Saturday's win over Edgewood — both coming on penalty kicks. Szymanski has now scored Saint Mary's last six PK goals. With the two goals vs. Edgewood, Szymanski pushed his career total 16, ranking the senior ninth all-time.
• OFFENSIVE LEADERS: With his second-half goal against Simpson, Szymanski moved into the team lead in goals with three, one more than Pendleton. Diego Rivera (), who assisted on Szymanski's goal against the Storm Saturday, leading the team with two helpers, while Szymanski has the team lead in points with seven.
• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Daniel Sessler (Brookfield, Ill.) stopped all four shots he faced against Simpson last Saturday en route to his first shutout of the season and second of his career. Sessler also stopped four shots in blanking Saint John's on April 21, 2021. … Sessler matched his career-high with seven saves in SMU's 3-0 loss to the University of Dubuque on Sept. 1. Sessler also stopped seven shots in his first collegiate start against St. Thomas on April 8, 2021. … Sessler locked up his first win as a Cardinal with a four-save effort in SMU's 2-1 win over Augsburg on April 11, 2021.
• TAKING THE SHOT: Szymanski has attempted a team-high 11 shots, three more than Pendleton and Palislamovic. Szymanski and Palislamovic are the team-leaders with eight shots on goal.
• SECOND HALF DOMINATION: The Cardinals have not allowed a second-half goal through four games and hold a 15-6 advantage in shots on goal after the halftime intermission.
• PERFECTION: With their 5-0 win over Martin Luther on Sept. 6, the Cardinals improved to 6-0-0 all-time against the Knights. Saint Mary's has outscored MLC 21-0 in its six meetings. |
• UNBEATEN: The Knights enter Wednesday's conference opener against Saint Mary's unbeaten in its first four games. Carleton has beaten both Concordia-Chicago and Simpson, while tying both Whitworth and Wartburg en route to its 2-0-2 start to the year.
• FIT TO BE TIED: Both of the Knights' draws this season have been 1-1 decisions, including last Saturday's deadlock with Wartburg in which Carleton's Tonny Alton tallied the game-tying goal with 23 minutes remaining in regulation.
• OFFENSIVE SURGE: Carleton scored more goals in its win over Simpson (4) than the Knights have in their other three games combined (3).
• HOME COOKING: Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the third straight home game for the Knights, who are 1-0-1 at Bell Field this season.
• LEADERS OF THE PACK: Aton, Owen, Flanagan, and Marco da Cunha all share the team lead with two goals each, while Jeremiah Lanzillo owns Carleton's other tally. … Blake Jones, Charlie Hall, and Jon Fernandes have accounted for the Knights' three assists through four games.
• TAKING THE SHOT: Flanagan and Jones share the team lead with eight shot attempts, while Aton and Justin Crawmer lead the team with four shots on goal.
• SHARING THE LOAD: Alexei Thomas and Elliot Hanson have both seen times between the pipes for the Knights this season. Thomas boasts a 0.58 goals-against-average and .750 save percentage in three starts, while Hanson stopped five of the six shots he faced (1.00 GAA, .844 save %) in his lone start of the season. … Thomas picked up his first collegiate shutout with a one-save effort against Concordia-Chicago on Sept. 5.
• AS A TEAM: The Knights have outscored their opponents 7-3 — including 3-0 in the first half — while holding a 22-14 advantage in shots on goal.
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