SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023: 2-2-0 MIAC, 6-3-2 Overall

BETHEL ROYALS

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2023: 1-3-1 MIAC, 3-5-2 Overall

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SMU-BETHEL * LAST MEETING:

Oct. 15, 2022 * Arden Hills, MN

L, 1-0 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Oct. 3, 2023 * St. Peter, MN

#23 Gustavus * W, 1-0

BETHEL * LAST ACTION:

Oct. 5, 2023 * Arden Hills, MN

Bethany Lutheran * T, 2-2

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Oct. 11, 2023 * Northfield, MN

St. Olaf * 4:00

BETHEL * UP NEXT: 

Oct. 11, 2023 * Minneapolis, MN

Augsburg * 7:30

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference showdown against Bethel sitting at 6-3-2 overall, including 2-2-0 in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Cohan Hare (New Richmond, Wis.) scored the game’s only goal midway through the first half, and Daniel Sessler (Brookfield, Wis.) stopped a career-high 15 shots, as the Cardinals handed No. 23 Gustavus a 1-0 MIAC setback Tuesday in St. Peter, Minn.

• ON A ROLL: The Cardinals pushed their winning streak to three, and their unbeaten streak to four (3-0-1) with last Tuesday’s 1-0 victory over No. 23 Gustavus.

• HOME SWEET HOME: With their 1-0 win over Concordia last Saturday, SMU has now picked up five of its last eight wins on its home field. The Cardinals are 3-1-1 at Ochrymowycz Field this season.

• STREAK-SNAPPER: The Cardinals put an end to a 24-game conference winless streak (0-22-2) with last Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Concordia. SMU’s last MIAC victory was a 4-1 triumph over Hamline on Oct. 26, 2019.

• STREAK-SNAPPER II & III: With their 1-0 win over No. 23 Gustavus on Tuesday, the Cardinals ended a four-game losing streak vs. the Gusties — and put together their first two-game MIAC winning streak since late in the 2019 season … SMU hadn’t won back-to-back league games since dropping Concordia (2-1) on Oct. 19, 2019 and Hamline (4-1) seven days later.

• CLOSE CALLS: Thirty of the Cardinals’ last 41 games have been decided by one goal or less — including nine of SMU’s 11 games this season.

• FIT TO BE TIED: For the second year in a row, the Cardinals have played to a scoreless tie this season. Saint Mary’s and Wisconsin Lutheran battled to a scoreless deadlock on Sept. 3. … The Cardinals’ three ties last season — including a 0-0 deadlock against Concordia on Oct. 1 — were the most since the 2015 season, when Saint Mary’s finished the year with three ties en route to a 6-9-3 overall record. 

• CAREER GAMES: Saint Mary’s boasts three players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season. Rojan Monger (St. Paul, Minn.) netted his first collegiate goal in the Cardinals’ 2-1 win over Bethany Lutheran on Sept. 6, while Diego Giles (Columbia Heights, Minn.) scored his first goal as a Cardinal against Simpson three days later, and Martin Garr (Monticello, Minn.) found the back of the net for the first time against Lawrence on Wednesday.

• CAREER GAMES II: Cohan Hare (New Richmond, Wis.) and Aidan Adamek (Helena, Mont.) each scored their first — and second — collegiate goals in SMU’s season-opening 4-0 win over Martin Luther on Sept. 1.

• HE SHOOTS, AND SCORES: With his goal against Gustavus on Tuesday, Cohan Hare (New Richmond, Wis.) moved atop the team lead with five goals, one more than Jack Hurley (Homewood, Ill.) and two up on Adamek, while Monger, Giles, Palislamovic, and Garr own SMU’s other four goals.

• LENDING A HAND: Along with his four goals, Hare has also assisted on all three of Adamek’s goals, while Hurley owns a pair of helpers, and Monger, Giles, Garr, Barick Makabi (Iowa City, Iowa) and Martin Garr (Monticello, Minn.) have also collected single assists this season.

• POINT PRODUCER: With his five goals and three assists, Hare sits atop the Cardinals’ points lead with 13. Hurley is second on the squad with 10 points (4 G, 2 A), four more than Adamek (3 G), followed by Monger (1 G, 1 A, 3 Pts), Giles (1 G, 1 A, 3 Pts), and Garr (1 G, 1 A).

• PLENTY OF PKs: With his PK goal against Concordia last Saturday, Hurley has now accounted for seven of SMU’s last eight penalty-kick goals — going 4-for-4 this season and 3-for-4 a year ago. … Hurley’s seven career PK goals put him No. 1 in program history, three more than Eli Szymanski.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Daniel Sessler (Brookfield, Ill.) has started nine of the Cardinals’ 11 games this season, compiling a 1.06 goals-against-average and an .855 save percentage. … Sessler led the MIAC in saves last season with 119, and has stopped 59 of the 69 shots he’s faced this season. … Jason Marcus (Gresham, Ore.) did not have to face a shot in his first collegiate start against Lawrence on Wednesday, while Ryan Horlock (Batavia, Ill.) also made his first collegiate appearance against the Vikings, playing the game’s final 45 minutes.

• SHUTTING THEM OUT: Sessler owns three shutouts this season — a seven-save effort against Wisconsin Lutheran on Sept. 3, a two-save showing against Concordia on Sept. 30, and a 15-save performance against No. 23 Gustavus on Tuesday — and now has five shutouts in his four-year collegiate career. The senior had one shutout in each of his first three seasons — including a 12-save performance in blanking Concordia on Oct. 1, 2022.

• BUSY NIGHTS: Sessler, who made 10 or more saves four times in 2022, stopped a career-high 15 shots in Tuesday’s 1-0 win over No. 23 Gustavus. The 15-save performance marked the second time this season the senior has stopped 10+ shots, having posted a then-career-best 13 saves in a 1-1 tie against Nebraska Wesleyan on Sept. 24. 

• OFF AND RUNNING: With their 4-0 victory over Martin Luther on Sept. 1, the Cardinals improved to 6-1-1 in their last eight 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. 

• TOTAL DOMINATION: With their 4-0 win against Martin Luther on Sept. 1, the Cardinals are now a perfect 8-0-0 all-time against Martin Luther, and have outscored the Knights 30-2 in those eight meetings. … Saint Mary’s five goals in last year’s 5-2 win over the Knights were a season high — and the most goals scored in a game since netting five against MLC in a 5-0 win in 2021.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: The Cardinals have scored nine of their 15 goals this season in the first half. SMU’s opponents, meanwhile, have netted four goals in the first half and seven after the intermission. … Saint Mary’s has attempted 114 shots in 11 games, including 51 on goal, while the Cardinals’ opponents have taken 166 shots, with 74 reaching their target. … SMU netted a season-high four goals in its season-opening 4-0 win over Martin Luther on Sept. 1.

BETHEL ROYALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Royals head into their Saturday showdown at Saint Mary’s sitting a 3-5-1 overall, including a 1-3-1 mark through five MIAC games

• LAST TIME OUT: James Oberholtzer scored with less than eight minutes remaining in regulation to lift the Royals into a 2-2 draw with Bethany Lutheran in the teams’ nonconference game Thursday in Mankato, Minn.

• BACK TO (MIAC) BUSINESS: After sandwiching nonconference games against UW-Eau Claire and Bethany Lutheran around a MIAC matchup against Hamline in a four-day span, the Royals return to conference play with Saturday’s showdown against Saint Mary’s. Bethel will face MIAC foes Saint Mary’s, Augsburg, Saint John’s, Concordia, and Gustavus, before closing out the 2023 regular season with nonconference games at Nebraska Wesleyan and Northwestern (Iowa).

• ROAD TRIP: Saturday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the first of back-to-back road games for the Royals, who are 2-3-1 on their home field, while going 1-2-1 on the road.

• LIMPING IN: With Thursday’s 2-2 nonconference tie against Bethany Lutheran, the Royals saw their winless streak climb to five (0-3-2). BU — which has lost to #11 Carleton (2-0), UW-Eau Claire (4-0), and Hamline (1-0), while tying #21 Macalester (1-1) and Bethany Lutheran (2-2) — has not won since blanking St. Scholastica 2-0 on Sept. 16.

• THROWING UP ZEROS: All three of Bethel’s wins this season have come via shutout — a 2-0 win over Northwestern, a 1-0 win over Crown, and a 2-0 victory against Northwestern. On the flip side, BU has been shut out four of its five losses.

• HE SHOOTS, AND SCORES: The Royals’ nine goals this season have come from six different players. James Oberholtzer, Yousef Abdellah, and Ryan Swanda lead the way with two goals each, while Bereket Bereketab, Isaac Howell, and Jordan Ross own BU’s other three goals. … Oberholtzer owns the team’s only multiple-goal game this season — scoring both goals in Thursday’s 2-2 tie against Bethany Lutheran.

• LENDING A HELPING HAND: Eli Duke owns a team-leading two assists, followed by Oberholtzer, Jack Hanson, and Lucas Johnson with one helper each.

• POINT PRODUCTION: With his two goals and one assist, Oberholtzer sits atop the Royals’ points heap with five.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Dylan Parkison and Juan Valdivia Cortes have shared the goalkeeping duties this season. Parkison has put together a 2.17 goals-against-average and .649 save percentage in six starts (540:00 minutes), while Valdivia Cortes boasts a 1.00 GAA and .789 save % in four starts (360:00 minutes). … Parkison has stopped a team-leading 24 shots, with Valdivia Cortes owning 15 saves. … Parkison owns a pair of shutouts this season, with Valdivia Cortes posting one shutout.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: Bethel has scored nine goals in its 10 games this season, while the Royals’ opponents have found the back of the net 17 times. … BU has attempted 132 shots, including 58 on goal, while the opposition owns 108 shots, with 57 on goal. … BU has scored a season-high two goals in a game three times — beating St. Scholastica (2-0) and Northwestern (2-0), and tying Bethany Lutheran (2-2). The Royals posted season-highs in assists (2), points (6), shots (27), and shots on goal (13) against St. Scholastica on Sept. 16. …