SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS
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2022: 1-0-0 Overall
AURORA SPARTANS
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2022: 1-0-0 Overall
ROCKFORD REGENTS
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2022: 0-0-1 UMAC, 3-18-0 Overall
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Aurora: Live Stats * Streaming Video
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SMU-AU * LAST MEETING:
Sept. 21, 1996 * Aurora, IL
W, 3-2 * Series History
SMU-ROCKFORD * LAST MEETING:
Sept. 3, 2011 * Rockford, IL
L, 3-2 * Series History
SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:
Sept. 1, 2022 * Winona, MN
Crown * W, 2-1
AURORA * LAST ACTION:
Sept. 1, 2022 * Decatur, IL
Millikin * W, 4-2
ROCKFORD * LAST ACTION:
Sept. 1, 2022 * No. Manchester, IN
Manchester * T, 0-0
SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:
Sept. 7, 2022 * Winona, MN
Ripon * 7:00
AURORA * UP NEXT:
Sept. 6, 2022 * Aurora, IL
Calvin * 6:00
ROCKFORD * UP NEXT:
Sept. 7, 2022 * Loves Park, IL
Cornell * 6:00
SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:
• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their weekend’s games against Aurora and Rockford on the heels of a 2-1, season-opening victory over Crown on Thursday.
• LAST ACTION: Santiago Montero (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Jack Hurley (Homewood, Ill.) scored goals for the Cardinals, and Daniel Sessler (Brookfield, Ill.) stopped five of the six shots he faced in SMU’s season-opening 2-1 win over Crown Thursday.
• CLOSE CALLS: With Thursday’s 2-1 victory against Crown on Thursday, 13 of Saint Mary’s last 15 games have been decided by one goal or less.
• ON THE OFFENSIVE: Montero and Hurley lead the team with one goal and two points, each, while Liam Boyle (Westchester, Ill.) collected the team’s lone assist against the Polars on Thursday.
• CAREER FIRST: Montero’s goal in the 16th minute against Crown Thursday was not only the Cardinals’ first goal of the season, but also the freshman’s first in a Saint Mary’s uniform.
• NEW PK KING: After eight straight penalty-kick goals recorded by graduated senior Eli Szymanski, Hurley’s second-half PK goal against Crown Thursday marked the first not scored by Szymanski since Zach Bracken converted on Oct. 23, 2019.
• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Sessler picked up win No. 1 on the season, stopping five of the six Crown shots he faced on Thursday. The junior closed out the 2021 campaign with 106 saves in 15 starts — tops in the MIAC — while sporting a 1.60 goals-against-average and an .809 save percentage.
• CAREER-HIGH: Sessler equaled his single-game career-high with 12 saves against Macalester on Oct. 26, 2021. The sophomore also recorded 12 saves in the team’s first meeting with UW-Eau Claire on Sept. 26, 2021. … Sessler reached double-digits in saves three times in 2021, adding a 10-save effort against Concordia on Oct. 2.
• STREAKING: With Thursday’s 2-1 victory over Crown, 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.
• NIGHT AND DAY: The Cardinals scored single goals in each half against Crown on Thursday. Saint Mary’s netted 11 of its 18 goals last season after the halftime break.
• DOMINATION: Thursday’s 2-1 win over Crown improved SMU to 6-1-1 overall 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.
AURORA SPARTANS SCOUTING REPORT:
• FOR THE RECORD: The Spartans are fresh off a season-opening, 4-2 victory over Millikin on Thursday in Decatur, Ill.
• LAST TIME OUT: Aurora erupted for three first-half goals in building a 3-1 halftime cushion en route to its 4-2, season-opening victory over Millikin on the road on Thursday.
• OFFENSIVE SURGE: Anthony Marmolejo scored two of Aurora’s four goals against Millikin on Thursday, while Eduardo Carrillo and Gio Villegas accounted for the other two tallies. Cristian Correa, Brandon Dolezal, and Connor Erickson all collected assists against the Big Blue on Thursday.
• GOALS A PLENTY: Aurora’s four goals against Millikin on Thursday matched the Spartans’ season high of a year ago. Aurora netted four goals in beating Rockford 4-1 last season.
• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Jalen Depenbrock and Antonio Herrera both saw time in goal for the Spartans against Millikin on Thursday, with each goalkeeper surrendering one goal, while making one save apiece
• HOME SWEET HOME: Saturday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the first of back-to-back home games for the Spartans, who play three of their next four contests at home. … Four of Aurora’s seven wins came on their home field. The Spartans closed out 2021 going 4-3-1 on their home field, while owning a 3-4-2 mark away from Spartan Athletic Park.
• A YEAR AGO: The Spartans are coming off a .500 season in 2021, going 5-5-2 in Northern Athletes Collegiate Conference (NACC) play, while finishing with a 7-7-3 overall. …
• NAILBITERS: Eight of Aurora’s 17 games last season were decided by one goal or less, including three that ended in a tie. … The Spartans played only one game that was decided by more than two goals — beating Rockford 4-1 on Oct. 20.
• STINGY D: Aurora allowed just three goals combined in its seven wins last season, recording four shutouts and surrendering one goal in the other three victories.
ROCKFORD REGENTS SCOUTING REPORT:
• FOR THE RECORD: The Regents are still looking for their first win of 2022, after battling Manchester to a 0-0 deadlock in their season-opener on Thursday in North Manchester, Ind.
• LAST TIME OUT: Gustavo Lazcano did his part for the Regents in their season-opening 0-0 tie with Manchester, stopping the lone shot he faced in the teams’ 0-0 tie.
• A YEAR AGO: Rockford is coming off a 5-11-1 season a year ago, including a 3-8-1 mark in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC). … The Regents closed out the 2021 campaign dropping their last five straight, and were 0-6-1 in their final seven contests.
• HOME SWEET HOME: Sunday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the first of four straight home contests for the Regents, who also face Cornell, Augustana, and Coe in the next seven days, before hitting the road to face Crown on Sept. 13. … Three of Rockford’s five 2021 wins came on their home field, where the Regents finished 3-4-1.
• SILENCED: Rockford was held to one goal or less in each of its 11 losses, and were shut out eight times.
• BIG OFFENSE = WINS: Rockford netted two or more goals in all five wins in 2021, including netting two goals in three of those five victories. The Regents scored twice in beating Marian (2-1), Edgewood (2-1), and Concordia-WI (2-0), while bouncing Ripon 3-0 and netting a season-high four goals in topping Beloit 4-0.
• WORKING OVERTIME: Rockford played three overtime games a year ago, going 0-2-1. The Regents dropped 1-0 and 2-1 decisions to Cornell and Concordia-Chicago, respectively, while battling Lakeland to a 1-1 draw.
