• 6-FOR-6: The Cardinals continued their winning ways in their conference-opener against Carleton last Tuesday, as Saint Mary's got an early, first-half goal from Haddy Falkman (Waconia, Minn.) and made it stand up in a 1-0 victory. The win was Saint Mary's sixth straight shutout victory, having also blanked UW-Superior (2-0), Coe (1-0), Martin Luther (11-0), Marian (4-0), and Ripon (5-0) en route to their 6-0-0 start.
• STRONG START: Saint Mary's season-opening six-game winning streak is its longest since going 8-0-0 in 2005. The longest season-opening winning streak is nine games, set in 1989.
• RED-HOT: Falkman's first-half goal against Carleton was her third goal in the last two games, and her sixth of the season. The junior has netted at least one goal in five of the team's six games.
• DOUBLING UP: Saint Mary's has had six players score two goals in a game this season. Along with Falkman and Elisia Jensen (Gig Harbor, Wash.) — who achieved the feat against Ripon last Sunday — Matthews, Kassie Arriaga (Chula Vista, Calif.), Brooklyn McKinney (Thornton, Colo.), and Megan Trindle (Castle Rock, Colo.) all posted two-goal games against Martin Luther on Sept. 6. The two-goal game was the sixth multiple-goal game for Matthews, and the first career two-goal game for Arriaga, McKinney, Trindle, Falkman, and Jensen.
• ASSISTING IN THE CAUSE: Genesis Capacio (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Matthews each had two-assist games for SMU last weekend. Capacio picked up assists on two of the Cardinals' four goals against Marian last Saturday for her first collegiate two-assist game, while Matthews had a pair of helpers against Ripon a day later.
• CAREER FIRSTS: The Cardinals have had five players score their first collegiate goals this season. 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 Monday's 11-0 win over Martin Luther.
• FIRST OF THE SEASON: Falkman's goal in the fifth minute against UW-Superior Wednesday was the Cardinals' first of the season.
• OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Falkman's team-high six goals are two more than both Matthews and Arriaga. Capacio owns the team lead in assists with four, while Falkman boasts a team-best 14 points.
• THE BRICK WALL: Alexis Nguyen (West Corvina, Calif.) recorded her third shutout of the season against Carleton Wednesday, stopping a career-high six shots in the process. Nguyen notched her first shutout of the season by stopping the lone shot she faced in the Cardinals' 2-0 win over UW-Superior on Sept. 1. The junior followed that up by recorded her second straight one-save shutout in SMU's 1-0 win over Coe three days later.… Nguyen tallied her first collegiate shutout with a two-save effort against Gustavus on May 2, 2021. … Nguyen stopped the one shot she faced in the first half of SMU's 11-0 win over Martin Luther on 6 and the two shots she faced in 73 minutes against Marian on Sept. 11, before giving way to Madison Mora (Honolulu, Hawaii), who did not face a shot in either appearance.
• FIRST APPEARANCES: Leah LeBrun (Antioch, Ill.) and Megan Nadal (Chino, Calif.) each made their first career appearances in goal for the Cardinals against Ripon last Sunday — with neither having to face a shot.
• DOUBLE DIGITS: Saint Mary's 11-goal outburst in its 11-0 win over Martin Luther last Monday 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.
• TOTAL DOMINATION: The Cardinals hold a commanding 139-26 advantage in shots attempted through six games — including a 78-11 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 31 shots, including 14 on goal.
• STRIKING FAST: Saint Mary's has scored at least one goal in the first half of all six games this season. SMU has outscored its opponents 16-0 in the first half and 8-0 in the second.
• ROAD WARRIORS: Tuesday's MIAC opener at Carleton marked the fifth straight road game for the Cardinals. … Tuesday's game at Carleton was the third straight road contest in a span of four days for SMU, which played at Marian on Saturday and at Ripon on Sunday.
• 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.
• NAILBITERS: With their 1-0 win over Carleton last Tuesday, 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. |
• TOUGH OPENER: The Bennies came up empty in their conference-opener against St. Catherine last Wednesday, falling to the Wildcats 1-0 in St. Joseph, Minn.
• FIRING BLANKS: Last Wednesday's 1-0 loss to St. Catherine was not only the Bennies' second straight loss, but also the second straight game in which CSB has failed to score. Saint Benedict dropped a 2-0 decision to UW-Eau Claire prior to falling to the Wildcats. … The Bennies have scored just one goal in their last four games — a 1-0 win over UW-Whitewater on Sept. 5.
• POWER SURGE: Saint Benedict scored 10 of its 11 goals this season in one game, routing UM-Morris 10-0 on Sept. 1. The 10 goals were the most in a game since 2004, when Saint Benedict beat Northland 11-0.
• OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Roxy Veldman and Erica Golenzer share the team lead with three goals each, one in front of Caralyn Conners. Sydney Burns, Abby Willenbring, and Clair Lehmann own CSB's other three goals. … Burns and Willenbring are the team's assist leaders with two each, while Veldman boasts a team-best seven points.
• TRIPLING UP: Veldman scored all three of her goals in CSB's 10-0 win over UM-Morris on Sept. 1. It was the first collegiate hat trick for the Bennie senior.
• TAKING THE SHOT: Veldman has attempted a team-high 11 shots, one more than Lehmann, and also leads the Bennies with seven shots on goal.
• SHARING THE LOAD: Paige Kahlmeyer and Annie Waters have shared the majority of the work load between the pipes for the Bennies this season. Waters has compiled a 1.10 goals-against-average and .750 save percentage in 164:09, while Kahlmeyer boasts a 1.67 GAA and .688 save % in a team-high 270:00. Natalie Wellinski did not face a shot in the 12:53 of work she's seen this season.
• ON THE ROAD: Saturday's game at Saint Mary's is the third road contest of the season for the Bennies, who beat UM-Morris (10-0) and lost to UW-Eau Claire (2-0) in its previous two road contests. CSB is 1-2 on its home turf.
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