ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — For Saint Mary's University women's soccer coach Nick Rizzo, Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown with Saint Benedict turned into a bad case of déjà vu.
 
The last time the Cardinals and Bennies faced off, Saint Benedict jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held off a furious Saint Mary's comeback in stealing a 3-2 victory in the MIAC Playoff semifinals.
 
Saturday afternoon, the Bennies matched that MIAC Playoff offensive output, scoring three times — and this time around the Cardinals had no offensive answer — as Saint Benedict dealt Saint Mary's a 3-0 conference setback at the CSB Soccer Field.
 
The Bennies grabbed the early momentum when Stephani Addison beat Saint Mary's goalkeeper Alexis Nguyen with a shot into the lower left-hand corner to give CSB a 1-0 advantage.
 
Saint Benedict's smothering defense stifled the Cardinals over the opening 45 minutes, limiting Saint Mary's to just one shot, an attempt by Lauren Ashe (Beaverton, Ore.) that whistled wide right midway through the frame.
 
Nguyen, meanwhile, was extremely busy in the game's opening half, stopping six of the seven shots the Bennies' put on her.
 
The Bennies picked up right where they left off to open the second half.
 
CSB's Caralyn Conners drilled a shot high over the outstretched arms of Nguyen two minutes into the second half to give the Bennies a 2-0 lead, and, just four minutes later, Abby Willenbring duplicated that feat to make it a 3-0 Saint Benedict advantage.
 
And, as was the case in the first half, the Cardinals' offense could not gain any traction in the second.
 
After limiting Saint Mary's to just one shot in the first half, the Bennies held SMU to two attempts over the game's final 45 minutes, and did not allow a Cardinal shot to reach goalkeepers Annie Waters or Paige Kahlmeyer. On the flip side, CSB peppered the Cardinal goal with 16 shots — Nguyen finished with 10 saves, while Anna Peckosh (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) made three saves in 22 minutes of relief.
 
The Cardinals (0-2-0 MIAC, 2-3-0 overall) are back in action on Wednesday, when they step out of conference play for a 7 p.m. matchup against Luther in Decorah, Iowa.