WINONA, Minn. — A tough matchup at Ochrymowycz Field yielded a heartbreaking 2-0 loss for the Saint Mary's University women's soccer team Wednesday evening.
 
Carleton scored a pair of goals in the second half, including one with nine seconds remaining in regulation, as the Knights blanked the Cardinals in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener.
 
It was a hard-fought and scoreless battle in the first half. Cardinal goalkeeper Alexis Nguyen (West Covina, Calif.) did her part to keep the game scoreless, making four first-half saves — including a diving deflection with less than five minutes remaining in the half. 
 
The even matchup continued into the second half, but a foul just outside the box in the 66th minute proved devastating to the Cardinals. Casey MacVeagh's free kick was initially blocked by the Cardinals' defensive wall, but the ball caromed right to Kathryn Kresse, who was able to feather it past Nguyen to put the Knights up 1-0.
 
Genesis Capacio (Las Vegas, Nev.) recorded SMU's first two shots on goal — on back-to-back point-blank attempts — with 19 minutes remaining in regulation, but both were stopped by Carleton goalkeeper Keya Moockencherry
 
The Knights iced the victory with just nine second left on the clock, as Cate Patterson beat Nguyen to round out the scoring.. 
 
Nguyen made an additional two saves in the second half for a game total of six, while Moockencherry needed to make just two saves in recording the shutout.
 
The Cardinals (0-1-0 MIAC, 2-2-0 overall) will next take the field against Saint Benedict on Saturday at 1 p.m. in St. Joseph, Minn.