SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS
Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule
2022: 2-3-2 MIAC, 5-5-2 Overall
BETHEL ROYALS
Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule
2022: 1-4-2 MIAC, 3-6-3 Overall
LIVE ON THE WEB:
Live Stats * Streaming Video
SMU-BU * LAST MEETING:
Oct. 16, 2021 * Winona, MN
W, 3-1 * Series History
SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:
Oct. 12, 2022 * Northfield, MN
St. Olaf * L, 3-0
BETHEL * LAST ACTION:
Oct. 12, 2022 * St. Joseph, MN
Saint Benedict * L, 4-1
SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:
Oct. 16, 2022 * Stevens Point, WI
UW-Stevens Point * 2 p.m.
BETHEL * UP NEXT:
Oct. 22, 2022 * Arden Hills, MN
Gustavus * 12:30 p.m.
SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:
• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference showdown against Bethel sitting at 5-5-2 overall, including 2-3-2 in conference play.
• LAST ACTION: St. Olaf broke open a one-goal game with a pair of tallies four minutes apart early in the second half in dealing the Cardinals a 3-0 setback Wednesday afternoon in Northfield, Minn.
• ON THE ROAD, AGAIN: Saturday’s game against St. Olaf is the second of four straight road games for the Cardinals, who are just 1-4-0 away from Ochrymowycz Field this season. On the flip side, Saint Mary’s is 9-2-4 in its last 15 home games — including 4-1-2 this season.
• STREAK-SNAPPER: The Cardinals’ 3-0 loss to St. Olaf on Wednesday snapped their season-high five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2).
• THROWING UP ZEOES: Saint Mary’s last three games — and nine games overall — have been decided by shutout. The Cardinals have beaten UM-Morris (3-0), Lawrence (2-0), Gustavus (1-0), and UW-Stout (1-0), while falling to Wartburg (1-0), Carleton (2-0), Saint Benedict (3-0), and St. Olaf (3-0), and tying Augsburg (0-0). … SMU’s wins over UM-Morris and Lawrence marked the second straight season in which the Cardinals opened the season with back-to-back shutout wins.
• NO GOALS: Saint Mary’s 0-0 tie against Augsburg last Saturday was its third 0-0 tie in the last two seasons. The Cardinals battled both Saint Benedict and St. Scholastica to 0-0 draws a year ago.
• NAILBITERS: Six of SMU’s last seven games have been decided by one goal or less — the Cardinals dropped a 2-1 decision to Luther on Sept. 21, battled St. Catherine to a 1-1 draw three days later, beat Gustavus (1-0), Concordia (2-1), UW-Stout (1-0), and tied Augsburg (0-0) — before falling to St. Olaf 3-0 on Wednesday.
• CAREER FIRSTS: The Cardinals have had four players record their first collegiate goals this season — the most recent off the foot of Munson against UW-Stout on Wednesday. Along with Munson’s tally, Malerie Williams (Osseo, Minn.) tallied her first as a Cardinal against St. Catherine on Sept. 24, and Ella Lahart (Sherwood, Ore.) and Lauryn Skoruppa (Littleton, Colo.) both recorded their first goals in a Cardinal uniform against UM-Morris on Sept. 1.
• LEADERS OF THE PACK: With her two goals against Concordia on Oct. 1, Falkman moved into the team lead in goals with three, one more than Skoruppa and Brooklyn McKinney (Thornton, Colo.). Munson, Williams, Lahart, Haddy Falkman, and Kaley Manglitz (Onalaska, Wis.) own SMU’s other four goals.
• LENDING A HAND: Lauren Ashe (Beaverton, Ore.) — who has assisted on Saint Mary’s last three goals — leads the team with three assists, one more than Falkman and Dakota Leonard (Lincolnshire, Ill.). McKinney, Skoruppa, and Williams have also collected a helper this season.
• POINT PRODUCER: Along with her team-leading three goals, Falkman also leads the team in points with eight (3 G, 2 A), three in front of both McKinney (2 G, 1A) and Skoruppa (2 G, 1 A). Williams (1 G, 1 A) and Ashe (0 G, 3 A) are sitting tied for fourth with three points.
• MULTIPLE-POINTS: Falkman’s two-goal effort against Concordia on Oct. 1 marked the second time in her career that she has scored two goals in a game. … Ashe picked up her first collegiate two-assist game with her two helpers against the Cobbers, while Skoruppa posted her first career three-point game with a goal and an assist against UM-Morris on Sept. 1.
• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Nguyen has appeared in all 12 games in goal — including 10 starts — owning a 1.15 goals-against-average and .831 save percentage. … Nguyen picked up her fourth shutout of the season, and 13th of her collegiate career, with five saves against Augsburg last Saturday. … Anna Peckosh (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) has appeared in three games (95:05 minutes), stopping all five shots she’s faced, while Megan Nadal (Chino, Calif.) stopped seven of the eight shots she faced in her lone appearance in goal (45:00 minutes).
• BUSY NIGHT: Nguyen made a career-high 12 saves in SMU’s 1-1 tie against St. Catherine on Sept. 24. It was the second time this season the senior has stopped 10 or more shots in a game, having posted a 10-save effort against Saint Benedict on Sept. 17. … Nguyen has now made 10 or more saves in each of the Cardinals’ last two meetings against St. Catherine, owning 10 saves in last season’s 2-1 win over the Wildcats.
• WEEKLY HONOR: Fueled by her career-high 12-save effort against St. Catherine last Saturday, Nguyen was named MIAC Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 19-25. It was the second time in her career that the senior earned the conference’s weekly honor.
• GOALKEEPING FIRSTS: Nadal made her first collegiate start on Sept. 21 against Luther, stopping seven first-half shots. … Peckosh made her first collegiate start against UW-Stout on Oct. 5, stopping both Blue Devil shots she faced in 45:00 of play, while making her first appearance in a Cardinal uniform on Sept. 17, making three saves in 22 minutes of relief in SMU’s 3-0 loss to Saint Benedict.
• AS A TEAM: The Cardinals have scored eight of their 11 goals this season in the second half. … Saint Mary’s opponents own a 154-124 advantage in shot attempts through 12 games — including 84-53 in shots on goal. … SMU recorded season-highs in goals (3), assists (3), points (9), shots (23), and shots on goal (11) in its 3-0, season-opening win over UM-Morris on Sept. 1.
• CLOSE CALLS: With their 2-1 win over Concordia on Oct. 1, the Cardinals have now won four straight against the Cobbers — all by one goal. In fact, each of the last seven meetings between the two teams have been settled by one goal or less, with SMU going 4-2-1 in those seven contests.
• A YEAR AGO: The Cardinals closed out the 2021 season with a 7-3-1 record in MIAC play and a 13-5-2 overall record — reaching the MIAC Tournament semifinals, where they dropped a 3-2 decision to second-seeded Saint Benedict. … The Cardinals’ seven conference wins are the most since 1995, when the Cardinals went 7-2-1, while SMU’s 13 overall victories are the most since the 2005 team finished 13-5-0. … Saint Mary’s 10-1-1 start to the season was its best start since opening the 1991 season 11-1-0. That 1991 team went on to finish 14-4-0 and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament, falling to UC-San Diego in the opening round. … The Cardinals also opened the 1988 season 11-1-0 — it’s the best 12-game start in program history.
• 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.
BETHEL ROYALS SCOUTING REPORT:
• FOR THE RECORD: Bethel heads into its Saturday’s showdown against Saint Mary’s sitting at 3-6-3 overall, including a 1-4-2 showing through the first seven games of the conference season.
• LAST TIME OUT: Saint Benedict scored three goals in the game’s final 18 minutes, breaking a 1-1 tie and sending the Bennies to a 4-1 MIAC victory over the Royals Wednesday in St. Joseph, Minn.
• HOME SWEET HOME: Saturday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the first of back-to-back home games for the Royals, who play three of their final four games of the season on their home field — the lone exception, a matchup at Concordia on Oct. 25. … Two of Bethel’s three wins this season have come at home, where the Royals own a 2-3-1 record. BU is 1-3-2 away from Ona Orth Athletic Complex this season.
• LIMPING IN: Last Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to Saint Benedict pushed the Royals’ winless streak to five (0-3-2). BU has not won since beating Hamline 2-1 on Sept. 24. Since that time, Bethel has tied Macalester (2-2) and St. Scholastica (1-1), and lost to St. Catherine (1-0), Carleton (1-0), and CSB (4-1).
• NAILBITERS: Seven of Bethel’s 12 games this season have been decided by one goal or less, including five of BU’s last six contests.
• BIG OFFENSE = WINS: The Royals have outscored their opponents 8-2 in their three wins this season. In their six losses, BU has been outscored 16-2.
• SCORING GOALS: Sonia Meyer has scored a team-leading six goals through 12 games this season, while Kelsey Bergan is second on the team with four goals. … Meyer and Bergan have accounted for 10 of the team’s 14 goals. Malia Beilby has found the back of the net twice, with Bella Heckmann and Ally Gramstad netting BU’s other two goals. … Bergan scored a season-high two goals — on a season-best four shots on goal — against Macalester on Sept. 27.
• LENDING A HELPING HAND: BU has collected six assists this season, led by Beilby and Kaia Kennedy with two helpers each. Heckmann and Halle Foster own the Royals’ other two helpers.
• POINT PRODUCTION: Bergan sits atop the team’s points lead with 12, followed by Bergan with eight, Beilby with six, and Heckmann with three.
• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Bethel has used three different goalkeepers through 12 games, with all three logging at least 100:00 minutes. Izzy Smith (1.60 GAA, .822 save percentage) and Kate Green (2.40 GAA, .676 save percentage) have both made five starts (450:00 minutes), while Cadence Becker (1.00 GAA, .857 save percentage) has started two games. … Smith owns a team-high 37 saves, followed by Green with 25 and Becker with 12. … Becker owns BU’s lone shutout, stopping all eight shots in blanking UW-Stout on Sept. 20.
• BY THE NUMBERS: BU’s opponents hold a 182-125 advantage in shots attempted, including 98-63 in shots on goal. … The Royals scored a season-high four goals in beating Northwestern (Minn.) 4-1 in their season-opener on Sept. 1. On the flip side, Bethel surrendered a season-high six goals in falling to UW-Oshkosh 6-0 on Sept. 3.
