SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2022: 0-3-1 MIAC, 3-5-3 Overall

AUGSBURG AUGGIES

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2022: 2-1-2 MIAC, 7-1-3 Overall

LIVE ON THE WEB:

Live Stats * Streaming Video

SMU-AUG * LAST MEETING:

Oct. 9, 2022 * Minneapolis, MN

L, 2-1 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Oct. 1, 2022 * Moorhead, Minn.

Concordia * T, 0-0

AUGSBURG * LAST ACTION:

Oct. 4, 2022 * Minneapolis, MN

UW-Eau Claire * W, 1-0

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Oct. 11, 2022 * Northfield, MN

St. Olaf * 4 p.m.

AUGSBURG * UP NEXT: 

Oct. 11, 2022 * Minneapolis, MN

Gustavus * 7:30 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into Saturday’s home conference matchup against Augsburg sitting at 3-5-3 overall, including an 0-3-1 mark in its first two MIAC contests.

• LAST ACTION: Daniel Sessler (Brookfield, Ill.) posted a career-high 12 saves for the second straight game, helping the Cardinals battle Concordia to a 0-0 stalemate last Saturday in Moorhead, Minn.

• CLOSE CALLS: Nineteen of the Cardinals’ last 25 games have been decided by one goal or less — including six of SMU’s 11 games this season.

• FIT TO BE TIED: The Cardinals’ three ties this season — including last Saturday’s 0-0 deadlock against Concordia — 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 last Saturday 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: Daniel Sessler (Brookfield, Ill.) has started all 11 games in goal for the Cardinals, compiling a 1.74 goals-against-average and a .798 save percentage. The junior has made 76 saves in his 11 starts.

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

• BUSY NIGHTS: Sessler equaled his career high with 12 saves in the Cardinals’ 0-0 tie against Concordia last Saturday. It was the second straight game — and the third time in his career that Sessler has posted 12 saves in a game.

• AS A TEAM: The Cardinals have scored 14 goals in 11 games, while attempting 108 shots, including 50 on goal. On the flip side, SMU’s opponents have attempted 189 shots, with 98 finding the mark. … The Cardinals hold an 11-8 scoring edge in the game’s opening half, while being outscored 14-4 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.

AUGSBURG AUGGIES SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Auggies head into Saturday’s matchup against Saint Mary’s sitting at 7-1-3 overall, including a 2-1-2 mark in five MIAC contests.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Auggies did something no other teams has been able to do this season — beat No. 23 UW-Eau Claire. Kebba Janneh scored the game’s only goal in the 23rd minute in leading the Auggies to a 1-0 victory over the previously unbeaten Blugolds Tuesday at Edor Nelson Field in Minneapolis, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Tuesday’s showdown against nationally ranked UW-Eau Claire was the Auggies’ third straight home game. Augsburg boasts a 5-0-2 mark on its home turf, while going 2-1-1 away from Edor Nelson Field.

• BIG OFFENSE = WINS: Augsburg has outscored its opponents 34-2 in its seven victories this season — including a season-high 11-goal outburst in routing Martin Luther 11-0 on Sept. 20.

• FIT TO BE TIED: The Auggies’ three ties — 1-1 stalemates against both Central (Iowa) and Saint John’s and a 0-0 deadlock against Macalester — are the most since 2019, when Augsburg also had three ties en route to a 9-6-3 overall record.

• FIND THE BACK OF THE NET: Augsburg’s 32 goals this season have come from 15 different players — led by Janneh and Nick Zuchowski with seven. Camel Htoo is third on the team with five goals, followed by Tomas Piza with four, Thomas Menna with three, and Kobby Owu with two. Mizel Harris, Mitchel Munzing, Spencer Enright, Jakob Mohrok, Jonathan Ongeri-Kamara, Jorge Radilla, Jeffrey Richter, Varney Conneh II, and Tyler Johnson have all scored once.

• LENDING A HELPING HAND: Harris owns a team-leading five assists, one more than Owu, and two up on Zuchowski and Htoo. Seventeen different Auggies have recorded at least one helper. 

• POINT PRODUCTION: Augsburg boasts three players with 10 or more points — Zuchowski (17, 7 G, 3 A), Janneh (15, 7 G, 1 A), and Htoo (13, 5 G, 3 A).

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Oscar Herrera has been the workhorse among the three goalkeepers who have seen time between the pipes this season, compiling a 0.56 goals-against-average and an .800 save percentage in nine starts (720:00). Heilo De La Torre (2 GP, 0.87 GAA, .667 save %, 135:00 minutes) and Luke Omodt (1 GP, 0.00 GAA, 45:00 minutes) have also seen action in goal this season. … Herrera has stopped 20 of the 25 shots he’s faced, including a season-high five saves against UW-Superior on Sept. 1, and owns five shutouts.

• HISTORIC WIN: The Auggies scored the second-most goals in program history in their 11-0 rout of Martin Luther on Sept. 20. Ten different players recorded at least one point, with Janneh scoring three times and Htoo and Owu adding two goals each.

• BY THE NUMBERS: Augsburg has outscored its opponents 37-6. … The Auggies have allowed just one goal after halftime, holding a 22-5 edge in the first half and a 15-1 advantage after the intermission. … Augsburg has attempted 206 shots, including 93 on goal, compared to 89 shots and 31 on goal for its opponents. … Augsburg ranks No. 3 in all of NCAA Division III in offense, averaging 3.36 goals-per-game.

• A YEAR AGO: Augsburg is coming off a 12-6-3 season a year ago, including a 6-3-1 mark in conference play that earned the Auggies their seventh MIAC Playoff appearance in program history — including their third since 2016. Augsburg dropped a 3-2 decision to Macalester in the opening round of last season’s post-season tournament.