Here's quick-hit, by-the-numbers preview of the 2022 Saint Mary's women's soccer team.
 
HEAD COACH:
Nick Rizzo (3rd season)
 
A YEAR AGO:
• 7-3-1 MIAC (3rd) | 13-5-2 Overall
 
IN THE POST-SEASON:
• 2021 MIAC Tournament: v. St. Scholastica (T, 0-0; won PKs 4-1); at Saint Benedict (L, 3-2)
 
RETURNERS TO WATCH:
• Alexis Nguyen (Senior, Goalkeeper | 14 GP, 0.45 GAA, .891 save percentage … MIAC Defensive Player of the Year, 2021 First-Team All-MIAC … Started 14 of SMU's 20 games in 2021, leading the team and the entire MIAC in goals-against-average (0.45) and shutouts (8) … Stopped a career-high 10 shots in SMU's 2-1 win over St. Catherine on Sept.26, 2021 … Finished with 49 saves on 55 shots in 2021).
• Haddy Falkman (Sr., Forward | 20 GP, 10 G, 4 A, 24 Pts. … 2021 First-Team All-MIAC … Set single-season career-highs in all three offensive categories — goals (10), assists (4), and points (24) … Post nine multiple-point games in 2021. … Scored first collegiate goal in 2021 season-opener against UW-Superior and posted first collegiate two-goal game vs. Ripon on Sept. 12).
• Brooklyn McKinney (So., Midfield | 19 GP, 5 G, 0 A, 10 Pts. … On of five Cardinals with 10 or more points in 2021. … Finished freshman season tied for third in goals (5) and fourth in points (10). … Scored first collegiate goal in 2021 season-opener against UW-Superior).
• Sophia O'Neil (Sr., Defender | 20 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 Pts. … 2021 First-Team All-MIAC … One of just three Cardinals to start all 20 games in 2021 — and the only returner to do so … Spearheaded a defense that boasted a 0.58 goals-against-average and allowed just 12 goals all season).
• Maya Wachter (So., Defender | 20 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 2 Pts. … 2021 H-M All-MIAC … First collegiate goal was game-winner in 1-0 win over UW-River Falls on Oct. 6, 2021 … Helped spearhead a defense that boasted a 0.58 goals-against-average and allowed just 12 goals all season).
 
BY THE NUMBERS:
• 0.45: Alexis Nguyen (West Corvina, Calif.) ended the year stopping 49 of the 55 shots she faced en route to a 0.45 goals-against-average and .891 save percentage.
• 1: The Cardinals made their first-ever MIAC Tournament appearance since the league added the six-team tourney in 2003. Prior to its tournament-opener against St. Scholastica on Nov. 1, Saint Mary's had not competed in post-season play since 1994, when the Cardinals beat Gustavus (4-1) and lost to UC-San Diego (1-0) in the NCAA Tournament.
• 1 x 6: The Cardinals had six players score their first collegiate goals in 2021. Maya Wachter (Dubuque, Iowa) netted the 2 OT game-winner against UW-River Falls on Oct. 6; Elisia Jensen (Gig Harbor, Wash.) netted her first two collegiate goals against Ripon on Sept. 12; Haddy Falkman (Waconia, Minn.) and Brooklyn McKinney (Thornton, Colo.) 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 Megan Trindle (Castle Rock, Colo.) and Jenna Zimmer (Calgary, Alberta) tallied their first career goals in SMU's 11-0 win over Martin Luther on Sept. 6.
• 4: The Cardinals played four overtime games in 2021, going 2-0-2. Saint Mary's played four overtime games in 2019 — with all four going into a second OT.
• 6 x 2: Saint Mary's had six players score two goals in a game in 2021 — a feat Jordyn Matthews (Seattle, Wash.) and Elisia Jensen (Gig Harbor, Wash.) achieved twice. Haddy Falkman (Waconia, Minn.), Kassie Arriaga (Chula Vista, Calif.), Brooklyn McKinney, and Megan Trindle (Castle Rock, Colo.) also recorded two-goal games.
• 7: The Cardinal s closed out the 2021 season with a 7-3-1 record in MIAC play and a 13-5-2 overall record. 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.
• 8: Alexis Nguyen (West Corvina, Calif.) recorded eight shutouts in 14 starts in goal for the Cardinals in 2021.
• 10: Haddy Falkman (Waconia, Minn.) closed out the 2021 season as the team's goal-scoring leader with 10, two more than Jordyn Matthews (Seattle, Wash.), while Elisia Jensen (Gig Harbor, Wash.) and Brooklyn McKinney (Thornton, Colo.) closed out the year with five goals each.
• 11: Saint Mary's 11-goal outburst in its 11-0 win over Martin Luther on Sept. 6, 2021 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.
• 12: Saint Mary's 3-2 loss to Saint Benedict in the teams' MIAC Tournament semifinal on Nov. 3 marked the 13th time in their final 14 outs that the game was decided by one goal or less — the lone exception, SMU's 3-1 win over St. Olaf on Oct. 12.
 
DID YOU KNOW?
As a team, the Cardinals led all MIAC teams in goals (40), assists (31), points (111), goals-against-average (0.68), and shutouts (12).
 
DID YOU KNOW, PART II?
• The Cardinals closed out the 2021 season with five players who recorded 10 or more points, led by Falkman with 24 and Matthews with 22. Jensen (11), McKinney (10), and Arriaga (10) also reached double digits in points. It's the first time since 2006 that Saint Mary's has had five players finish the season with 10 or more points.
 
DID YOU KNOW, PART III?
• Haddy Falkman's (Waconia, Minn.) goal in the 14th minute against St. Olaf on Oct. 12, 2021 was the Cardinals' only regular-season penalty kick attempt of the season — and their first since Arriaga scored on a PK against Coe on Sept. 9, 2018, a span of 36 games without a penalty kick attempt.