MENOMONIE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University women's soccer team was treading in unfamiliar territory Sunday afternoon in its nonconference game against UW-Stout.
 
For the first time all season, the Cardinals did not score the game's first goal — meaning, for the first time all year, Saint Mary's had to play the role of the hunter, rather than the hunted.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, hunting Blue Devils was not their specialty, as UW-Stout jumped out to a 2-0 first-half lead and held on for dear life down the stretch in dealing Saint Mary's its first loss of the season, 2-1.
 
Rachel Younker gave the Blue Devils the early, first-half lead, rifling a low shot past SMU goalkeeper Leah LeBrun (Antioch, Ill.) and into the right corner of the net.
 
And the Blue Devils weren't finished, as Lexi Boyd tacked on UW-Stout's second goal of the half in the 38th minute to leave Saint Mary's staring at a 2-0 deficit at the halftime break.
 
Matthews — who scored both goals in the Cardinals' 2-1 conference win over St. Catherine on Saturday — netted her third goal of the week in the 59^th minute to pull Saint Mary's within one, 2-1.
 
That, however, would be as close as the Cardinals would get, as UW-Stout held off a furious Saint Mary's offense assault over the final 30 minutes to seal the win.
 
LeBrun — making her second collegiate start for the Cardinals — stopped one of the three UW-Stout shots she faced, before giving way to Madison Moras (Honolulu, Hawaii), who stopped both shots she faced in 49 minutes of relief. Blue Devils' goalkeeper Haley Vokaty finished with seven saves.
 
The Cardinals (7-1-1 overall) return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Wednesday, heading to St. Peter, Minn., for a 4 p.m. showdown against Gustavus.