ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's soccer team entered Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown with a bit of a chip on their shoulder.
A 10-0 loss to the Wildcats in their last meeting will do that to a team.
It's been 149 days since that forgettable confrontation — and when Saint Mary's took the field Saturday afternoon to square off against the Wildcats once again, the Cardinals were determined to write a more memorable ending.
Which is exactly what they did.
In a battle of unbeatens, it would be the Cardinals who kept their slate clean — thanks in large part to the lethal one-two combination of
Jordyn Matthews (Seattle, Wash.) and
Alexis Nguyen (West Corvina, Calif.).
Matthews scored a pair of goals — including the game-winner with less than 12 minutes remaining in regulation — and Nguyen stopped a career-high 10 shots, as the Cardinals avenged that nightmarish 10-0 loss to SCU in late April with a thrilling, 2-1 victory.
Matthews opened the scoring for the Cardinals midway through the first half, scoring her fourth goal of the season.
Saint Mary's would maintain that 1-0 advantage into the halftime intermission and through the first 27 minutes of the second half, before the Wildcats would net the equalizer on a goal by Lauren Witte.
Witte's goal not only knotted the game at 1-1, but also marked the first time this season the Cardinals had surrendered a goal — a span of 722:31 scoreless minutes.
That, however, would be the only goal the Wildcats would get past Nguyen — who finished with a career-high 10 saves.
Matthews and the Cardinal offense, meanwhile, weren't about to be satisfied with a tie, and the junior striker answered SCU's goal with her second of the day with less than 12 minutes remaining in regulation to give Saint Mary's the victory — and snap a nine-game losing streak against the Wildcats.
St. Catherine held a 19-6 advantage in shots, and an 11-2 edge in shots on goal — but the Cardinals made both of their shots on goal count in pushing their conference record to 2-0-1, while improving to 7-0-1 overall
Saint Mary's is back in action, and back on the road, on Sunday, as the Cardinals head to Menomonie, Wis., for a 4 p.m. nonconference matchup against UW-Stout.
