WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's soccer team opened conference play Tuesday evening on its home turf at Ochrymowycz Field, but it wasn't quite the end result they were looking for.
 
The Cardinals were dealt their first loss of the season, falling to the Carleton Knights 3-0.
 
The Knights came out and took control early. 
 
Barclay Shove scored in the 13th minute to give the Knights an early 1-0 lead, an advantage they held onto for the remainder of the otherwise scoreless first half.
 
The Cardinals had their share of chances in the game's opening 45 minutes. Jacob Clements (Holmen, Wis.) made two direct shots on goal in the 31st and 36th minutes, but both were stopped by Knights' goalkeeper Daniel Linder. Jack Hurley (Homewood, Ill.) had an excellent opportunity in the 33rd minute on a close-range free kick, but Linder was again up to the challenge.
 
The second half was a tight matchup, with neither team able to tack on a goal — until the game's waning minutes, that is. 
 
A foul against the Cardinals in the box allowed Carleton's Trevor Jones to score with less than 10 minutes left in regulation to increase Carleton's lead to 2-0. And with under five minutes remaining, Sam Isaacman beat the SMU defense and tacked on the Knights' third goal of the evening.
 
Daniel Sessler (Brookfield, Ill.) made an impressive six saves in goal for the Cardinals. 
 
The Cardinals (0-1-0 MIAC, 3-1-2 overall) will next face off against Saint John's University in their second conference game of the season on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Collegeville, Minn.