• END OF THE ROAD: Saint Mary's had its season-opening eight-game unbeaten streak snapped on Sunday, as the Cardinals dropped a 2-1 nonconference decision at UW-Stout. The Cardinals' 7-0-1 start was their best since going 8-0-0 and 9-1-0 in 2005.
• MIAC REGROUP: The Cardinals, coming off a 0-0 tie against Saint Benedict on Sept. 18, got a pair of goals from Jordyn Matthews (Seattle, Wash.) and 10 saves from Alexis Nguyen (West Corvina, Calif.) en route to a 2-1 victory over St. Catherine last Saturday to stay unbeaten in conference play (2-0-1).
• ONE GOT PAST: St. Catherine's goal in the game's 72nd minute last Saturday was the first allowed by the Cardinals this season — ending a span of 722:13 scoreless minutes. … UW-Stout's goal in the fourth minute on Sunday, meanwhile, marked the first time all season the Cardinals have not scored first. … With their three goals surrendered last weekend, Saint Mary's has now outscored its first nine opponents 27-3.
• TOUGH SLATE: With their 2-1 win over St. Catherine last Saturday, Saint Mary's has now faced three teams that qualified for the 2019 MIAC Tournament in their first three MIAC games this season. SMU is 2-0-1 against those three.
• RED-HOT: Jordyn Matthews scored all three of the Cardinals' goals last weekend, netting both goals in the Cardinals' 2-1 win over St. Catherine last Saturday, and netted SMU's lone tally the its 2-1 loss to UW-Stout the following day.
• CONFERENCE HONORS: With her three goals in SMU's 2-1 win over St. Catherine and 2-1 loss to UW-Stout, Matthews was named MIAC Athlete of the Week on Sept. 27. It was the second straight AOW honor for the Cardinals — Alexis Nguyen (West Corvina, Calif.) 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.
• LEADER OF THE PACK: With her three goals last weekend, Matthews moved into a tie for the team lead in goals (6) with Haddy Falkman's (Waconia, Minn.), two goals in front of Arriaga. … Genesis Capacio (Las Vegas, Nev.) owns the team lead in assists with four — one more than Matthews, Falkman, and Kaley Manglitz (Onalaska, Wis.) — while Falkman and Matthews share the team lead with 15 points.
• DOUBLING UP: Saint Mary's has had six players score two goals in a game this season — a feat Matthews has achieved twice. Falkman and Elisia Jensen (Gig Harbor, Wash.) achieved the feat against Ripon on Sept. 12, while 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. It was the first career two-goal game for Arriaga, McKinney, Trindle, Falkman, and Jensen.
• 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.
• THE BRICK WALL: Nguyen stopped a career-high 10 shots in SMU's 2-1 win over St. Catherine last Saturday. … Nguyen posted her fourth of the season, stopping all four shots she faced in SMU's 0-0 tie against Saint Benedict on Sept. 18. … Nguyen has now made 25 saves this season.
• 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.
• NUMBERS DO LIE: St. Catherine outshot Saint Mary's 19-5, including 11-2 in shots on goal — but the Cardinals came away with the 2-1 win. And a day later, Saint Mary's held an 8-5 edge in shots on goal against UW-Stout, only to fall 2-1.
• TOTAL DOMINATION: The Cardinals hold a commanding 169-62 advantage in shots attempted through nine games — including a 92-31 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 38 shots, including 19 on goal.
• STRIKING FAST: Saint Mary's has scored at least one goal in the first half in seven of its nine games this season. SMU has outscored its opponents 17-2 in the first half and 10-1 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.
• 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.
• SNAPPED: With their 2-1 win over St. Catherine on Saturday, the Cardinals put an end to a nine-game losing streak against the Wildcats, dating back to a 3-1 win on Oct. 15, 2011.
• 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. |
• TOUGH OUTING: The Gusties were manhandled in their last outing, falling to Saint Benedict 5-0 on the road last Saturday. The Gusties outshot CSB 19-16, including 12-8 in shots on goal, but came up empty in losing for the second time in three games.
• FIRING BLANKS: Gustavus' 5-0 loss to Saint Benedict last Saturday marked the third time this season the Gusties have been shutout. GAC has scored just one goal in its four losses this season.
• ROAD WARRIORS: Gustavus is in the midst of playing five of six games on the road, the lone exception Wednesday's home contest against Saint Mary's. GAC is 3-2-0 on the road this season, while sporting a 1-2- record on its home field.
• GETTING OFFENSVIE: Katie Ashpole has scored a team-leading four goals through eight games — two more than Page Cocciarella. Ashpole and Cocchiarella are the only Gusties with more than one goal this season, Rachel Rehneit, Kirstin Poppen, Elin Swenson, and Annika Lewis have accounted for GAC's other four goals.
• LEND A HAND: Rehneit has a team-high three assists, with Cocchiarella, Poppen, Kenna West, Lauren Miller, Ella Carlson, and Gabriela Rodriguez all recording one helper.
• IN GOAL: Gustavus has used three different goalkeepers through eight games, with Abby Goodno seeing the brunt of the action between the pipes. Goodno has compiled a 1.73 goals-against-average and .767 save percentage in 519:03 minutes, while Leah Pavish (1.50 GAA, .571 save %, 180:00), and Justin Holm (0.00, 1.000 save %, 20:57) have also see time in goal.
• AS A TEAM: Gustavus has scored 11 goals — including a season-high four goals in beating St. Scholastica 4-1 on Sept. 14. GAC has been outscored by one in each half — 6-5 in the first half and 7-6 in the second. … The Gusties have outshot their opponents 119-85, and hold a 63-53 edge in shots on goal.
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