• OT HEARTBREAK: The Cardinals battled Saint John's to a scoreless deadlock through 90 minutes of regulation last Saturday, but the Johnnies would score the game's only goal less than three minutes into the first overtime in dealing SMU a 1-0 setback. …Â
• WORKING OVERTIME: With last Saturday's 1-0 loss to Saint John's, the Cardinals and Johnnies have now gone into overtime in each of their last three meetings. Saint Mary's beat (2-1) and tied (0-0) the Johnnies in their two meetings last season.
• THE END: The Cardinals had their three-game winning streak come to a screeching halt on Wednesday, as Carleton scored two goals in less than two minutes early in the first half in handing Saint Mary's a 2-1 setback in the teams' conference opener. After opening the season with a 3-0 loss to the University of Dubuque, the Cardinals had 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 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).
• HOME SWEET HOME: Wednesday's game against St. Scholastica is the second of back-to-back home games for the Cardinals. The Cardinals are 2-1-0 on their home field this season, having defeated Martin Luther (5-0) and Edgewood (3-1), while falling to Saint John's.
• KING OF THE PK: Eli Szymanski (La Crosse, Wis.) scored recorded his third penalty kick goal of the season last Wednesday with a first-half tally. Szymanski scored two of Saint Mary's three goals in its Sept. 4 win over Edgewood — both coming on penalty kicks. Szymanski has now scored Saint Mary's last seven PK goals.
• OFFENSIVE LEADERS: With his first-half goal against Carleton, Szymanski pushed his team lead in goals to four, two more than Landon Pendleton (Mobile, Ala.). Diego Rivera (Chicago, Ill.), who assisted on Szymanski's goal against the Simpson on Sept. 11, leads the team with two helpers, while Szymanski has the team lead in points with nine. … Syzmanski's four goals this season give him 16 for his four-year collegiate career, ranking the senior ninth all-time
• CAREER FIRSTS: Pendleton, Roberto Bontempi (Santos, Brazil), and Alex Keeler (Antioch, Ill.) all scored their first collegiate goals in the Cardinals' 5-0 win over Martin Luther on Sept. 6. … 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.
• TAKING THE SHOT: Szymanski has attempted a team-high 13 shots, four more than Cerim Palislamovic (Jacksonville, Fla.). Szymanski also leads the team with seven shots on goal, one more than Palislamovic.
• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Daniel Sessler (Brookfield, Ill.) — who stopped all four shots he faced against Simpson on Sept. 11 en route to the first shutout of the season and second of his career — equaled his career-high with seven saves against Carleton last Wednesday. … Sessler has now stopped seven shots in a game three-times. … Sessler enters Wednesday's matchup against St. Scholastica boasting a 1.49 goals-against-average and a .786 save percentage. The sophomore has stopped 22 shots in 362:45.
• 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 on Sept. 4. 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 on Sept. 6. Wing stopped both shots he faced in 71:38, while Petrich did not face a shot in 18:22 of relief.
• SECOND HALF DOMINATION: The Cardinals have not allowed a second-half goal through six games and hold a 16-13 advantage in shots on goal after the halftime intermission.
• OFFENSIVE RESURGENCE: The Cardinals scored as many goals against Martin Luther on Sept. 6 (5) as they had in all five of their games combined a year ago.
• 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. |
• ONE FOR THE BOOKS: St. Scholastica captured the program's first MIAC victory last Saturday, scoring four first-half goals in outlasting Concordia 5-3. The Saints scored goals on five of their six shots on goal against the Cobbers.
• SPREADING THE WEALTH: The Saints' five goals against Concordia last Saturday came from five different players — Ken Pryde, Chris Galley, Nolan Friday, Miki Lumsden, and Romario Willis.
• HIGH OCTANE OFFENSE: St. Scholastica has scored three or more goals in three of its four wins this season — beating MSOE 4-3, Coe 3-0, and Concordia 5-3. On the flip side, CSS has allowed three or more goals in two of its three losses — falling to St. Norbert 4-1 and Gustavus 6-2.
• ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of five straight road games for the Saints, who are 2-1-0 on the road this season.
• OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Friday heads into Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's boasting a team-high three goals, one more than Willis, Pryde, Galley, Finigan Huffington, and Akeem Robotham. Lumsden, Jordan Finneran, Arseno Hamilton, and Alex Dodd own CSS's other four goals. … Finneran is the team's assist leader with three, while Friday and Huffington share the team lead in points with six each.
• GAME-WINNERS: St. Scholastica's four game-winner goals have come from four different players — Friday, Willis, Lumsden, and Dodd.
• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Liam Lothian has started six of the team's seven games in goal, compiling a 2.91 goals-against-average and .575 save percentage. Lothian has stopped 23 of the 40 shots he's faced in 526:17.
• EVEN-STEVEN: The Saints have scored 11 goals in the first half and six in the second, while their opponents own 11 first-half goals and seven second-half tallies.
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