The Saint Mary's University women's soccer team kicks off its 2009 season with the first of back-to-back road games Friday, as the Cardinals travel to Indianola, Iowa, for a 4 p.m. nonconference contest against Simpson.
Records: Saint Mary's (0-0-0 Overall) / Simpson (0-1-0 Overall)
Last Action: Today's game is the season opener for the Cardinals. Simpson, meanwhile, kicked off its 2009 season on Tuesday, dropping a 2-0 nonconference decision to UW-River Falls.
Last Meeting: The Cardinals and Storm have not met since the 2005 season, when Kendra Maloney netted the game's only goal on a 25-yard chip shot over the head of the Simpson goalkeeper, as SMU opened its season with a 1-0 victory.
SMU Cardinal Notes: Goalkeeper Mariana Sanchez (Puebla, Mexico) was an honorable-mention All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection a year ago. … Four of the Cardinals' five wins came on the road. SMU was 1-5-1 on its home turf. … The Cardinals' loss to UW-Stout on Oct. 23 snapped their six-game, 2008 nonconference winning streak. Ironically, it was the Blue Devils who put an end to the Cardinals' 23-game nonconference win streak with a 2-1 victory vs. SMU a year ago. … The Cardinals are now 28-2-1 in their last 31 nonconference games and are 28-5-2 in nonconference play since the start of the 2004 season. … Amy Sibik (Onalaska, Wis.) was the Cardinals' offensive leader in 2008, boasting team highs in goals (8) and points (18). It's the second straight season in which Sibik was the team's goal-scoring and points leader. … Sanchez appeared in 14 of the team's 18 games, posting a team-leading 1.88 goals-against-average and a .759 save percentage. Sanchez stopped 82 of the 108 shots she faced in 2008, including eight or more saves in a game five times. … Four of SMU's five wins were by shutout. … Twelve of the Cardinals' 18 games were been decided by shutout. … The Cardinals' 23 goals came from nine different players. … SMU scored 12 of its 23 goals in the first half.
Simpson Storm Notes: Simpson went 11-6-2 a year ago, tying for third in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) with a 5-2-1 record. … The Storm boasted a league-best three First-Team All-IIAC selections in 2008 — Nicole Dillenburg, Whitney Franker, Johnna Kripal. … Dillenburg led the team in all three offensive categories as a freshman last season, tallying eight goals, five assists and 21 points. … Franker, meanwhile, closed out her senior season with a 0.82 goals-against-average, an .867 save percentage and eight shutouts. … Simpson will be looking to two freshman goalies after the graduation of Franker, Simpson's all-time leader in saves and wins. … This year's senior class helped Simpson win the IIAC regular season as freshmen in 2006, but lost in the conference tournament championship game, negating an NCAA bid. … The Storm's starting lineup in their 2009 season opener consisted of seven freshmen. … Simpson outscored its opponents 34-15 a year ago — including 24-6 in the second half. … Nine of Simpson's 11 wins in 2008 were via shutout. … Today's game is the first of six straight home games for the Storm, who does not play on the road again until Sept. 23, when they travel to St. Joseph, Minn., for a nonconference game against Saint Benedict.
