ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's soccer team had so much fun putting an end to a lengthy conference streak on Saturday, that the Cardinals decided to do it again on Tuesday.
Just three days after putting an end to a 24-game conference winless streak, the Cardinals snapped a four-game losing streak against 23rd-ranked Gustavus — and put together their first two-game MIAC winning streak since late in the 2019 season — beating the Gusties 1-0.
SMU, which hadn't won back-to-back league games since dropping Concordia (2-1) on Oct. 19, 2019 and Hamline (4-1) seven days later, took the lead early in the first half and never relinquished it in posting its first win over the Gusties since a 2-0 victory on Oct. 11, 2017.
Cohan Hare (New Richmond, Minn.) got the Cardinals on the board in the 23rd minute, scoring his team-leading fifth of the season — with an assist from
Jack Hurley (Homewood, Ill.) — and SMU maintained that one-goal advantage throughout the remainder of the first half.
The Gusties, who held a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal through the opening 45 minutes, peppered Saint Mary's goalkeeper
Daniel Sessler (Brookfield, Minn.) with 10 more shots in the second frame — but the Cardinal senior was up to the task, posting a career-high 15-save effort for his second shutout in as many games.
The Cardinals (2-2-0 MIAC, 6-3-2 overall) — who have now won three straight and are 3-0-1 in their last four games — are back in action on Saturday, when they return to Ochrymowycz Field for a 1 p.m. conference matchup against Bethel.
