SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2022: 0-2-0 MIAC, 3-4-2 Overall

GUSTAVUS GUSTIES

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2022: 3-0-0 MIAC, 6-0-2 Overall

LIVE ON THE WEB:

Live Stats * Streaming Video

SMU-GAC * LAST MEETING:

Sept. 28, 2021 * St. Peter, MN

L, 1-0 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Sept. 24, 2022 * Winona, MN

UW-Eau Claire * L, 2-1

GUSTAVUS * LAST ACTION:

Sept. 24, 2022 * St. Peter, MN

Saint John’s * W, 5-0

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Oct. 1, 2022 * Moorhead, MN

Concordia * 3:30 p.m.

GUSTAVUS * UP NEXT: 

Oct. 2, 2022 * Whitewater, WI

UW-Whitewater * 5 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into Tuesday’s conference matchup against Gustavus sitting at 3-4-2 overall, including an 0-2-0 mark in its first two MIAC contests.

• LAST ACTION: Unbeaten UW-Eau Claire broke a 1-1 tie with a goal with less than 18 minutes remaining in regulation, as the Blugolds pushed their season-opening winning streak to 11 with a 2-1 win over the Cardinals Saturday at Ochrymowycz Field.

• CLOSE CALLS: Eighteen of the Cardinals’ last 23 games have been decided by one goal or less — including five of SMU’s nine games this season.

• OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Jack Hurley (Homewood, Ill.) and Cerim Palislamovic (Jacksonville, Fla.) share the team lead with three goals each. Jacob Clements (Holmen, Wis.), and Rolando Lopez (Berwyn, Ill.) are tied for second in goals with two each, while Kyle Palmberg (Holmen, Wis.), Santiago Montero (Phoenix, Ariz.), and Nathan Riess (Timnath, Colo.) own SMU’s other three goals.

• CAREER FIRSTS: The Cardinals have had four players net their first collegiate goals this season — Montero tallied his first as a Cardinal against Crown on Sept. 1; Lopez netted his against Rockford on Sept. 4; Palmberg scored his vs. Ripon on Sept. 7; and Nathan Riess (Timnath, Colo.) collected goal No. 1 against Martin Luther on Sept. 10.

• CAREER FIRST, PART II: Palislamovic’s two goals against Martin Luther on Sept. 10 marked the first time in his collegiate career that the sophomore has scored two goals in a game.

• PLENTY OF PKs: The Cardinals are 4-for-5 in penalty kicks this season. Hurley has accounted for three of SMU’s four PK goals, while Palislamovic owns the other. … Saint Mary’s two PK goals against Martin Luther on Sept. 10 are the most in a game since Eli Szymanski scored two penalty-kick goals against Edgewood on Sept. 9, 2021. … Saint Mary’s has attempted five penalty kicks in its first six games — one more than its total from all of last year. The last time the Cardinals scored more than four PKs in a season was 2007, when they went 7-for-8.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Daniel Sessler (Brookfield, Ill.) has started all nine games in goal for the Cardinals, compiling a 1.92 goals-against-average and a .746 save percentage. The junior has made 47 saves in his nine starts — including a season-high eight saves against Simpson last Wednesday.

• AS A TEAM: The Cardinals have scored 14 goals in nine games, while attempting 98 shots, including 46 on goal. On the flip side, SMU’s opponents have attempted 143 shots, with 72 finding the mark. … The Cardinals hold a 11-8 scoring edge in the game’s opening half, while being outscored 12-4 in the second half. 

• STREAK SNAPPER: Saint Mary’s 3-0 loss to Carleton on Sept. 13 snapped the Cardinals’ season-opening five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2) — SMU’s longest unbeaten run since rattling off six straight wins during the 1997 season.

• STRONG START: The Cardinals’ 3-0-2 start was their best since opening the 1986 season 4-0-1, and the third-best start in program history. The 1983 Saint Mary’s team went 13 games without a loss to open the season, going 11-0-2.

• OFF AND RUNNING: With their 2-1 victory over Crown on Sept. 1, the Cardinals improved to 5-1-1 in their last seven season-openers, the lone blemish a 3-0 loss to the University of Dubuque a year ago, and a 1-1 tie with St. Olaf during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. 

• GOOD KNIGHT: Saint Mary’s five-goal effort against Martin Luther on Sept. 10 was a season-high, and the most goals scored in a game since netting five against the Knights in last season’s 5-0 victory.

• TOTAL DOMINATION: With their 5-2 win on Sept. 10, the Cardinals are now a perfect 7-0-0 all-time against Martin Luther, and have outscored the Knights 26-2 in those seven meetings.

• TOTAL DOMINATION II: With their season-opening, 2-1 win over Crown on Sept. 1, SMU improved to 6-1-1 all-time against the Polars — including a 5-0-1 mark in the teams’ last six meetings.

• NEW THIS YEAR: The NCAA implemented a new rule beginning with the 2022 that will eliminate all overtimes in regular-season games. Games that are deadlocked following the scheduled 90 minute will go in the books as ties. Once in post-season, if a game is tied following regulation, there will be two, 10-minute overtime periods — with no golden goal — followed by a shootout if the game is still tied.

GUSTAVUS GUSTIES SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Gusties head into Wednesday’s road conference matchup against Saint Mary’s sitting at 6-0-2 overall, including a perfect 3-0-0 in its first three MIAC contests.

• LAST TIME OUT: Gustavus set the tone early, scoring two goals in the first 18 minutes and rolled to a 5-0 rout of Saint John’s Saturday in St. Peter, Minn.

• IN THE POLLS: The Gusties enter Wednesday’s game sitting No. 7 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll. 

• HOME AND ROAD ARE SWEET: The Gusties have played four games at home, and four on the road — and own 3-0-1 records in both.

• OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION: Gustavus’ five goals and 14 points in last Saturday’s 5-0 rout of Saint John’s were both season highs. … GAC has scored three or more goals in a game four times — adding three-goal games against Loras, St. Scholastica, and Carleton to last Saturday’s five-goal effort against Saint John’s.

• NAILBITERS: Four of the Gusties’ eight games have been decided by one goal or less. Gustavus owns 1-0 wins over both Lake Forest and St. Norbert, while tying Bethany Lutheran (1-1) and Wartburg (0-0). … In GAC’s other four wins, th3e Gusties have outscored their opponents 14-1.

• ON THE OFFENSIVE: Gustavus has scored 17 goals through eight games, and had gotten at least one goal from 13 different players. Owen Johnson leads the team with four goals, one more than Alexander Krumenauer. Johnson and Krumenauer are the other Gusties with more than one goal, 

• LENDING A HELPING HAND: Johnson, Jared Hecht, Otis Anderson, and Ethan Glissendorf share the team lead with two assists each, with Krumenauer, Jakob Foss, Jack Knight, Rivaldo, Matt Carlson, Yahya Bashir, and Parker Flynn all chipping in one helper.

• POINT PRODUCTION: Johnson has amassed a team-leading 10 points, followed by Krumenauer with seven, and Hecht, Anderson, and Glissendorf with four each. … Johnson recorded a single-game, season-high five points (2 G, 3 A) in GAC’s 5-0 win over Saint John’s last Saturday.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Wesley Sanders has started all eight games in goal — and has played every minutes of those eight contests — compiling a 0.25 goals-against-average and .867 save percentage. … Sanders has stopped 13 of the 15 shots he’s faced and owns six shutouts. …

• BY THE NUMBERS: Gustavus has outscored its first eight opponents 17-2 — including 9-0 in the second half. GAC holds an 8-2 edge in the game’s first 45 minutes. … The Gusties have outshot their opponents 90-51, including 48-16 in shots on goal.