WINONA, Minn. — The last time someone other than Eli Szymanski had scored on a penalty kick for the Saint Mary's University men's soccer team came on Oct. 23, 2019.
 
Since that tally in late October three years ago, Szymanski had netted eight consecutive PK goals.
 
And Jack Hurley (Homewood, Ill.) could not have picked a better time to replace Szymanski as the Cardinals' PK king.
 
Hurley scored what proved to be the game-winning, penalty-kick goal three minutes into the second half in lifting the Cardinals to a season-opening, 2-1 nonconference win over Crown at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
Santiago Montero (Phoenix, Ariz.), playing in his first collegiate game, made an immediate impact, knocking home his first goal as a Cardinal just 16 minutes into the first half to give Saint Mary's an early 1-0 advantage.
 
Hurley gave the Cardinals a little breathing room in the 48th minute, doing a picture-perfect Szymanski impersonation, converting his penalty kick with a laser into the lower left-hand corner to beat Crown goalkeeper Leo Roque, and give the Cardinals a 2-0 SMU lead.
 
And Hurley's goal proved to be a huge one, as Angel Salinas feathered a shot past Cardinal goalkeeper Daniel Sessler (Brookfield, Ill.) seven minutes later to cut the SMU lead to 2-1.
 
Salinas' goal would be the only Polar shot to elude Sessler, who finished with five saves, while Roque match his Cardinal counterpart with a five-save effort of his own.
 
The Cardinals (1-0-0 overall) are back in action this weekend, with a pair of nonconference games in Illinois. SMU will face Aurora at 1 p.m. in Aurora, Ill., on Saturday, before squaring off against Rockford in Rockford, Ill., at 4 p.m. the following afternoon.