WINONA, Minn. — As if taking on a team riding a season-opening 11-game winning streak wasn't tough enough, the Saint Mary's University men's soccer team jumped out of the frying pan, and right into the fire.
 
Just four days after dropping a heartbreaking 2-1 decision to unbeaten UW-Eau Claire, the Cardinals took the field Wednesday evening against league-leading Gustavus — currently sporting a No. 7 ranking in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll.
 
And for the first 50 minutes of the conference contest, the Cardinals gave the seventh-ranked Gusties all they could handle.
 
A four-minute lapse early in the second half, however, proved to be the Cardinals' undoing, as Gustavus scored the game's first goal in the 52nd minute and added another four minutes later in dealing Saint Mary's a 2-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
Daniel Sessler (Brookfield, Ill.) did his part to keep the Cardinals within striking distance, equaling his career high with 12 saves — including several of the acrobatic variety. The junior goalkeeper stopped all six shots he faced in the first half, while adding six more saves on eight shots over the game's final 45 minutes.
 
Despite holding a 9-0 advantage in shots — and a 6-0 edge in shots on goal — the Gusties were unable to penetrate the brick wall that was Sessler over the opening 45 minutes, as the teams took a 0-0 deadlocked into the halftime break.
 
Gustavus continued to apply the offensive pressure right out of the gates in the second half, and were finally rewarded for its efforts when Alexander Krumenauer rifled a shot over the outstretched arms of Sessler and into the net for a 1-0 lead seven minutes into the period.
 
Less than four minutes later, Krumenauer was at it again, blasting a second shot past Sessler to give the Gusties all the offense they would need in improving to 4-0-0 in conference play and 7-0-2 overall.
 
The Cardinals (0-3-0 MIAC, 3-5-2 overall) are back in action on Saturday, when they travel to Moorhead, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. conference matchup against Concordia.
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