• FIT TO BE TIED: Saint Mary's has been off since last Saturday, when they battled Saint Benedict to a 0-0, double-overtime tie. The Cardinals and Bennies have now played to a draw in each of their last two meetings, having battled to a 1-1 deadlock a year ago.
• STREAKING ALONG: The Cardinals' 0-0 tie against Saint Benedict last Saturday snapped their season-opening six-game winning streak — SMU's longest win streak to open the season since going 8-0-0 in 2005.The tie did extend their season-opening unbeaten streak to seven (6-0-1).
• STILL SCORELESS: With their 0-0 tie against Saint Benedict last Saturday, the Cardinals have now gone seven games — 650 total minutes — without giving up a goal this season. Along with their tie vs. the Bennies, the Cardinals have also blanked UW-Superior (2-0), Coe (1-0), Martin Luther (11-0), Marian (4-0),Ripon (5-0), and Carleton (1-0).
• TOUGH SLATE: With their 0-0 tie against Saint Benedict last Saturday, Saint Mary's has now faced two teams that qualified for the 2019 MIAC Tournament in their first two conference games of the season — and their third MIAC foe, St. Catherine on Saturday, was also a part of that six-team conference tournament.
• RED-HOT: Haddy Falkman's (Waconia, Minn.) first-half goal against Carleton on Sept. 14 was her third goal in the last three games, and her sixth of the season. The junior has netted at least one goal in five of the team's seven 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 on Sept. 1 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.) posted her second straight shutout — and fourth of the season — stopping all four shots she faced in last Saturday's 0-0 tie against Saint Benedict. … Nguyen stopped a career-high six shots in last Wednesday's 1-0 win over Carleton. … Nguyen has now made 15 saves in 498:14.
• CONFERENCE HONORS: Nguyen was named MIAC Athlete of the Week on Sept.20, after stopping all six shots she faced in back-to-back shutouts against Carleton and Saint Benedict.
• 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 150-36 advantage in shots attempted through seven games — including a 92-15 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 36 shots, including 17 on goal.
• STRIKING FAST: Saint Mary's has scored at least one goal in the first half in six of its seven games this season. SMU has outscored its opponents 16-0 in the first half and 8-0 in the second.
• 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 on Sept. 14, 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. |
• COMEBACK KIDS: The Wildcats kept their season-opening unbeaten streak in tack Tuesday afternoon, scoring back-to-back second-half goals 10 minutes apart — including the game-winner with less than two minutes remaining in regulation — to beat Central-Iowa 2-1.
• ROLLING ALONG: With their 2-1 win over Central-Iowa, the Wildcats extended their winning streak to four straight, while running their unbeaten streak to six (4-0-2). Add that to their perfect 4-0-0 showing during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and St. Catherine is 8-0-2 in its last 10 games.
• NAILBITERS COME IN 2s: All six of St. Catherine's games this season have been decided by one goal or less. After opening with back-to-back ties with California Lutheran (1-1) and Occidental (0-0), SCU posted back-to-back 1-0 wins over UW-Eau Claire and Saint Benedict, before beating Bethel and Central-Iowa by identical 2-1 outcomes.
• FINDING HER GROOVE: Sydney Nelson scored both of the Wildcats' goals against Central-Iowa The goals against the Dutch were Nelsoin's first two of the season — and the first two of her collegiate career.
• OFFENSIVE LEADER: Amanda Elton is the Wildcats' offensive leader, leading the team in both goals with four and points with eight. Prior to Tuesday's game vs. Central-Iowa, Elton had accounted for four of SCU's five goals. Along with Nelson's two tallies, Sofia Campbell owns the Wildcat's' other goal this season.
• CREDITED WITH THE ASSIST: Caitlyn Bartlett, Taylor John's, Amora Valenciz, and Lauren Witte own SCU's four assists this season.
• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Kate Praetz has played every minute of the Wildcats' first six games in goal, compiling a 0.47 goals-against-average and an .857 save percentage. Praetz has stopped 18 of the 21 shots she's faced and owns a pair of shutouts.
• HOME COOKING: Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the third straight home game for the Wildcats, who are 2-0-0 on their home field this season. SCU is 2-0-2 in its four road contests of 2021.
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