SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2022: 3-8-3 Overall

UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE

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2022: 6-5-4 Overall

LIVE ON THE WEB:

Live Stats * Streaming Video

SMU-UD * LAST MEETING:

Sept. 1, 2021 * Dubuque, IA

L, 3-0 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Oct. 15, 2022 * Arden Hills, MN

Bethel * L, 1-0

U. OF DUBUQUE * LAST ACTION:

Oct. 15, 2022 * Lincoln, NE

NE Wesleyan * L, 1-0

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Oct. 22, 2022 * Winona, MN

Hamline * 3:30 p.m.

U. OF DUBUQUE * UP NEXT: 

Oct. 22, 2022 * Indianola, IA

Simpson * 3:30 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into Tuesday’s final nonconference matchup against the University of Dubuque sitting at 3-8-3 overall.

• LAST ACTION: Daniel Sessler (Brookfield, Ill.) made eight saves, but the Saint Mary’s offense remained in an October deep-freeze, as Bethel scored the game’s only goal with less than three minutes remaining in regulation in dealing the Cardinals a 1-0 conference setback last Saturday in Arden Hills, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Tuesday's game against the University of Dubuque is the first of three straight home games for the Cardinals, who will host Hamline on Saturday for Senior Day, before closing out its regular-season home slate on Oct. 26 against Macalester.

• CLOSE CALLS: Twenty of the Cardinals’ last 28 games have been decided by one goal or less — including seven of SMU’s 14 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 in its first six games — 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: Sessler has started 13 of the team’s 14 games in goal for the Cardinals, compiling a 1.82 goals-against-average and an .805 save percentage. The junior has made 91 saves in his 13 starts — tops in the MIAC. … Jake Wing (Verona, Wis.) has appeared in four games in goal (136:05 minutes), stopping 11 of the 21 shots he’s faced, while Connor Petrich (Arden Hills, Minn.) has played in two games (35:32 minutes), having yet to face a shot.

• 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 career high with 12 saves three times this season. 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 14 games, while attempting 123 shots, including 58 on goal. On the flip side, SMU’s opponents have attempted 270 shots, with 136 finding the mark. … The Cardinals have been outscored 16-11 in the game’s opening half, while being outscored 16-4 in the second half. 

• STREAK SNAPPER: Saint Mary’s 3-0 loss to Carleton on Sept. 13 snapped the Cardinals’ 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. 

UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE SPARTANS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Spartans enter Tuesday’s road contest at Saint Mary’s sitting at 6-5-4 overall, including owning a 2-1-3 mark in American Rivers Conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Nebraska Wesleyan scored the game’s only goal in the 36th minute, as the Prairie Wolves dealt Dubuque its first A-R-C loss of the season with a 1-0 victory last Saturday in Lincoln, Neb.

• STINGY “D”: Nebraska Wesleyan’s first-half goal last Sunday was the first goal allowed by the Spartans in the last five games. Prior to Saturday’s loss, UD owned 1-0 wins over Central (Iowa) and Coe, and 0-0 draws vs. Wartburg and Loras.

• ROAD WARRIORS: Tuesday’s game at Saint Mary’s is the second of three straight road games for the Spartans, who travel to Simpson on Saturday, before closing out the regular-season schedule with a home game against Buena Vista on Oct. 25. … UD sports a 3-2-2 record on its home field, while going 3-3-2 away from Oven Field in Dubuque, Iowa.

• NAILBITERS: The Spartans’ last seven games — nine overall — have been decided by one goal or less. UD is 3-2-4 in those nine one-goal games this season.

• HITTING THE MARK: Gavin Wooldridge enters Tuesday’s game against Saint Mary’s owning a team-high five goals, one more than Josh Krenger and two in front of Lucas Von Braun. Emil Josefsson, Noah Hoos, Draek Littler, Stepan Maltsev, and Drew Wisdom have netted UD’s other five goals. … Wooldridge netted a season-best two goals against Elmhurst on Sept. 17.

• NETTING THE GAME-WINNER: Krenger leads the Spartans with two game-winning goals, with Wooldridge, Von Braun, Josefsson, and Littler accounting for the other four.

• LENDING A HELPING HAND: Josefsson and Liam Persson are the team’s assist leaders with three and two helpers, respectively. Josefsson and Persson are the only two Spartans with more than one helper. Krenger, Von Braun, Hook, Littler, Max Forsberg and Ruben Kalombo have all assisted on one goal. … Josefsson posted a season-high two assists against Monmouth on Sept. 1.

• POINT PRODUCTION: With his team-leading five goals, Wooldridge sits atop the team’s points lead with 10, one more than Krenger. Von Braun is third with seven points and Josefsson has five. … Wooldridge and Josefsson have each posted season-high four-game points — Wooldridge’s against Elmhurst on Sept. 17 and Josefsson’s vs. Monmouth on Sept. 1.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Matt Marchiori has appeared in 13 of the team’s 15 games in goal — including 12 starts — and owns a 1.04 goals-against-average and .797 save percentage in 1122:59 minutes. Christoffer Rastock has started three games (216:59 minutes), compiling a 0.83 GAA and .833 save percentage, while Micah Falk has made one save in his lone appearance (10:02 minutes). … Marchiori has stopped 51 of the 63 shots he’s faced and owns five shutouts. … Marchiori recorded a season-high 10 saves against Loras on Oct. 11.

• BY THE NUMBERS: The Spartans opened the season with back-to-back wins and was 3-0-1 in their first four. … Dubuque has dropped back-to-back games just once — falling to MSOE 2-0 and Carroll 3-1. … UD has recorded season-highs in goals (3), assists (3), and points (9) twice — against Monmouth on Sept. 1 and again vs. Grinnell on Sept. 7.