SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

2022: 0-4-1 MIAC, 3-6-3 Overall

ST. OLAF OLES

Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

2022: 5-1-0 MIAC, 8-4-0 Overall

LIVE ON THE WEB:

Live Stats * Streaming Video

SMU-STO * LAST MEETING:

Oct. 13, 2021 * Winona, MN

L, 2-1 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Oct. 8, 2022 * Winona, MN

Augsburg * L, 3-0

ST. OLAF * LAST ACTION:

Oct. 9, 2022 * Northfield, MN

Saint John’s * W, 3-1

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Oct. 15, 2022 * Winona, MN

Bethel * 3:30 p.m.

ST. OLAF * UP NEXT: 

Oct. 15, 2022 * St. Peter, MN

Gustavus * 3:30 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into Tuesday’s road conference matchup against St. Olaf sitting at 3-6-3 overall, including an 0-4-1 mark in its first five MIAC contests.

• LAST ACTION: Saint Mary’s surrendered two goals in the game’s first 16 minutes and could not recover, falling to Augsburg 3-0 last Saturday at Ochrymowycz Field.

• CLOSE CALLS: Nineteen of the Cardinals’ last 26 games have been decided by one goal or less — including six of SMU’s 12 games this season.

• FIT TO BE TIED: The Cardinals’ three ties this season — including a 0-0 deadlock against Concordia on Oct. 1 — are the most since the 2015 season, when Saint Mary’s finished the year with three ties en route to a 6-9-3 overall record.

• SCORELESS TUSSLE: SMU’s 0-0 tie against Concordia on Oct. 1 was its first 0-0 outcome since battling Saint John’s to a scoreless draw on April 21, 2021.

• OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Jack Hurley (Homewood, Ill.) and Cerim Palislamovic (Jacksonville, Fla.) share the team lead with three goals each. Jacob Clements (Holmen, Wis.), and Rolando Lopez (Berwyn, Ill.) are tied for second in goals with two each, while Kyle Palmberg (Holmen, Wis.), Santiago Montero (Phoenix, Ariz.), and Nathan Riess (Timnath, Colo.) own SMU’s other three goals.

• CAREER FIRSTS: The Cardinals have had four players net their first collegiate goals this season — Montero tallied his first as a Cardinal against Crown on Sept. 1; Lopez netted his against Rockford on Sept. 4; Palmberg scored his vs. Ripon on Sept. 7; and Nathan Riess (Timnath, Colo.) collected goal No. 1 against Martin Luther on Sept. 10.

• CAREER FIRST, PART II: Palislamovic’s two goals against Martin Luther on Sept. 10 marked the first time in his collegiate career that the sophomore has scored two goals in a game.

• PLENTY OF PKs: The Cardinals are 4-for-5 in penalty kicks this season. Hurley has accounted for three of SMU’s four PK goals, while Palislamovic owns the other. … Saint Mary’s two PK goals against Martin Luther on Sept. 10 are the most in a game since Eli Szymanski scored two penalty-kick goals against Edgewood on Sept. 9, 2021. … Saint Mary’s has attempted five penalty kicks — one more than its total from all of last year. The last time the Cardinals scored more than four PKs in a season was 2007, when they went 7-for-8.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Daniel Sessler (Brookfield, Ill.) has started all 12 games in goal for the Cardinals, compiling a 1.89 goals-against-average and a .796 save percentage. The junior has made 88 saves in his 12 starts — tops in the MIAC.

• SHUTTING THEM OUT: Sessler’s 12-save shutout against Concordia on Oct. 1 was his first of the season and third of his three-year collegiate career.

• BUSY NIGHTS: Sessler has equaled his single-game career high with 12 saves in each of his last three starts, including last Saturday’s 3-0 loss to Augsburg. Sessler has now stopped 12 shots in a game four times over his collegiate career. 

• AS A TEAM: The Cardinals have scored 14 goals in 12 games, while attempting 115 shots, including 53 on goal. On the flip side, SMU’s opponents have attempted 218 shots, with 114 finding the mark. … The Cardinals hold an 11-10 scoring edge in the game’s opening half, while being outscored 15-4 in the second half. 

• STREAK SNAPPER: Saint Mary’s 3-0 loss to Carleton on Sept. 13 snapped its season-opening five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2) — SMU’s longest unbeaten run since rattling off six straight wins during the 1997 season.

• STRONG START: The Cardinals’ 3-0-2 start was their best since opening the 1986 season 4-0-1, and the third-best start in program history. The 1983 Saint Mary’s team went 13 games without a loss to open the season, going 11-0-2.

• OFF AND RUNNING: With their 2-1 victory over Crown on Sept. 1, the Cardinals improved to 5-1-1 in their last seven season-openers, the lone blemish a 3-0 loss to the University of Dubuque a year ago, and a 1-1 tie with St. Olaf during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. 

• GOOD KNIGHT: Saint Mary’s five-goal effort against Martin Luther on Sept. 10 was a season-high, and the most goals scored in a game since netting five against the Knights in last season’s 5-0 victory.

• TOTAL DOMINATION: With their 5-2 win on Sept. 10, the Cardinals are now a perfect 7-0-0 all-time against Martin Luther, and have outscored the Knights 26-2 in those seven meetings.

• TOTAL DOMINATION II: With their season-opening, 2-1 win over Crown on Sept. 1, SMU improved to 6-1-1 all-time against the Polars — including a 5-0-1 mark in the teams’ last six meetings.

• NEW THIS YEAR: The NCAA implemented a new rule beginning with the 2022 that will eliminate all overtimes in regular-season games. Games that are deadlocked following the scheduled 90 minute will go in the books as ties. Once in post-season, if a game is tied following regulation, there will be two, 10-minute overtime periods — with no golden goal — followed by a shootout if the game is still tied.

ST. OLAF OLES SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Oles head into their Tuesday conference matchup against Saint Mary’s sporting an 8-4-0 overall record, including a near-perfect 5-1-0 mark in six MIAC contests. St. Olaf’s lone conference loss this season was a 2-1 setback to conference-leader Carleton on Oct. 1

• LAST TIME OUT: Victor Gaulmin scored twice and Casey McCloskey added a goal and two assists, as the Oles cruised to a 3-1 MIAC win over Saint John’s last Sunday in Northfield, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: With their 3-1 win over Saint John’s last Sunday, the Oles improved to 6-0-0 on their home field this season. St. Olaf is 2-4-0 away from Rolf Melby Field. 

• STREAKING: The Oles’ 3-1 win over Saint John’s was their second straight win. … St. Olaf is 6-1-0 in its last seven games, the lone loss a 2-1 setback against Carleton on Oct. 1. … St. Olaf’s loss to Carleton on Oct. 1 snapped its 14-game regular-season conference winning streak, dating back to a 1-0 loss to Concordia in the final game of the 2019 regular season.

• THROWING UP BLANKS: St. Olaf has outscored its opponents 28-1 in its eight wins this season, shutting out Northland (7-0), Central-Iowa (1-0), Bethel (1-0), Hamline (4-0), Macalester (4-0), St. Scholastica (5-0), and UW-Eau Claire (3-0) — before surrendering a goal in its 3-1 win over Saint John’s last Sunday. 

• HE SHOOTS, AND SCORES — A LOT: St. Olaf has netted 33 goals this season — including one goal from 14 different players. … Gaulmin and Clemente Arcuch Puig share the team lead with five goals each, followed by Casey McCloskey and Shea Bechtel with four. Hakeem Morgan has netted three goals, with Liam Vance, Robi Buzakovic, Zac Harvey-Latham, and Caspar Olseth all chipping in two. … 

• LENDING A HELPING HAND: McCloskey leads the Oles with seven assists, one more than Bechtel. Morgan is third with four helpers, with Gaulmin, Vance, Ben Beckman, and Jordan Oberholtzer owning two helpers apiece.

• POINT PRODUCTION: St. Olaf boasts five players who have amassed 10 or more points, led by McCloskey with 15 (4 G, 7 A). Bechtel (4 G, 6 A, 14 Pts), Gaulmin (5 G, 2 A, 12 Pts), Arcuch Puig (5 G, 1 A, 11 Pts), and Morgan (3 G, 4 A, 10 Pts) have also reached double digits in points this season.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Austin Williams and Peter Forseth have both seen extended time in goal for the Oles this season. Williams boasts a 0.89 goals-against-average and .800 save percentage in nine starts (810:00 minutes), while Forseth has compiled a 1.00 GAA and .500 save percentage in three starts (270:00 minutes). … Williams owns four shutouts, two more than Forseth, and the duo have combined on one other shutout.

• BY THE NUMBERS: St. Olaf recorded single-game season-highs in goals (7), points (19), shots (37), and shots on goal (18) against Northland on Sept. 1, while collecting a season-best five assists against St. Scholastica on Sept. 28. … St. Olaf holds a 244-113 advantage in shots attempted and a 98-46 edge in shots on goal. … The Oles have scored three or more goals in a game six times this season — including five in blanking St. Scholastica 5-0 and a season-high seven in routing Northland 7-0.