PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University women's soccer team kicks off its 2013 season with a pair of back-to-back road games, beginning with an 11 a.m. nonconference game at UW-Platteville on Saturday. SMU then heads to Dubuque, Iowa, for a 2 p.m. nonconference game at the University of Dubuque.

The Matchups:
Saturday, August 31, 2013 | 11 a.m. | Platteville, Wis.
SMU Cardinals (0-0-0 Overall) at UW-Platteville Pioneers (1-0-0 Overall)
Sunday, September 1, 2013 | 2 p.m. | Dubuque, Iowa
SMU Cardinals (0-0-0 Overall) at University of Dubuque Spartans (0-0-0 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats: UW-Platteville Game | Dubuque Game | Video Preview

Last Action:
Saturday's game at UW-Platteville is the season-opener for the Cardinals, while the Pioneers kicked off their season with a nonconference road game at Cornell (Iowa) on Friday. … University of Dubuque, meanwhile, opened its 2013 season on Friday with a 3-0 road win at Grinnell.

SMU vs. UW-Platteville — Their Last Meeting:
October 25, 2009: The Pioneers scored a pair of first-half goals — on their first two shots on goal — and never looked back in handing the Cardinals a 2-0 setback in their final nonconference game of the season.

SMU vs. University of Dubuque — Their Last Meeting:
September 7, 2012: One bad bounce late in the game proved to be the Cardinals undoing, as Elizabeth Frazier scored on a penalty kick with less than five minutes remaining in regulation to lift the University of Dubuque to a 2-1 victory at Ochrymowycz Field.

Up Next:
The Cardinals return to action on Wednesday, traveling to River Falls, Wis., for a 4 p.m. nonconference game against UW-River Falls. … UW-Platteville is back on its home turf on Wednesday, as the Pioneers entertain Loras in a 7 p.m. contest in Platteville, Wis. … University of Dubuque is off until Thursday, when the Spartans host Lawrence in a 4 p.m. contest in Dubuque, Iowa.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013 Roster | 2012 Final Statistics | 2013 Schedule
Bethany Schmidt (Sparta, Wis.) closed out the 2012 season with a team-leading five points, while also sharing the top spot in goals (2) with graduated senior Sloane Kuramoto (Rochester, Minn.). … Katie Holmes (Edina, Minn.), Rachel Tackmann (Lake City, Minn.) and Lia Irwin (Prescott, Ariz.) netted SMU's other three goals. … Four of the Cardinals' seven goals last season were collegiate-firsts. … Schmidt, Holmes, Caroline Blackwood (Norwalk, Ohio), Heidi Martin (Ankeny, Iowa) and Tessa Scanlon (Cologne, Minn.) all picked up assists in 2012. … Irwin's second-half penalty kick goal against Macalester on Oct. 24 was the second PK of the season for SMU. Tackmann also converted a penalty kick against Lawrence on Sept. 9. … Miranda Halling (Rochester, Minn.) made her 18th straight start in goal for the Cardinals in their season-finale against Augsburg on Oct. 27. Halling finished with 12 saves vs. the Auggies, giving her a conference-leading 145 saves last season. … Halling stopped 10 or more shots six times this season — including a season-high 16-save effort against Concordia on Sept. 29. … Halling closed out the season owning a 3.11 goals-against-average and a .721 save percentage. … The Cardinals scored six of their seven goals in the second half. Kuramoto's goal vs. Bethel on Sept. 22 is SMU's lone first-half goal this season. … SMU recorded a season-high seven shots on goal twice — first against Luther on Sept. 19 and second against Gustavus on Sept. 26.

Scouting The UW-Platteville Pioneers:
2013 Roster | 2012 Final Statistics | 2013 Schedule
Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of two straight home games for the Pioneers, who play five of their first seven games on their home turf — where they went 3-5-0 a year ago. … The Pioneers return 10 starters and 19 letterwinners from last year's squad that finished with a 6-11-0 record and eighth-place finish in the WIAC. … The Pioneers managed to wrap up the season on a high note, winning four of their last six contests. … UW-Platteville struggled in the month of September, dropping seven of its eight games, while being outscored 30-11. … The Pioneers will be without leading scorer Anna Strasser who netted nine goals and tallied 20 points in her senior season a year ago. … Sarah Eck is UW-Platteville's top returning offensive threat, having netted seven goals and added 17 points last season. Eck picked up right where she left off against Grinnell Friday, scoring twice and assisting on the Pioneers other goal. … The Pioneers used six different goalkeepers in 2012, but only Jade Jandt returns. Jandt made five starts a year ago, posting a 3.89 goals-against-average, while making 16 saves.

Scouting The University of Dubuque Spartans:
2013 Roster | 2012 Final Statistics | 2013 Schedule
Sunday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of five straight home games for the Spartans, who lost just twice in 10 home contests a year ago (7-2-1). … Alexandra Watkins — a two-time First-Team All-IIAC selection and a Third-Team NSCAA All-Region pick a year ago — returns for her senior season having led the team in goals (13), assists (4) and points (30). … Melissa Sawyer shared the team assist lead with Watkins, while Megan Siepler was second to Watkins in goals (6) and points (15). … Loisann DeLass and Chelsea Hawkins shared the goalkeeping duties in 2012 — DeLass recorded a 1.11 goals-against-average and an .806 save percentage, while Hawkins boasted a 1.27 GAA and a .765 save percentage. … The Spartans scored 18 goals in both the first and second halves in 2012, outscoring their opponents 36-25. … The Spartans have qualified for the Iowa Conference Tournament 10 out the 12 years it has been hosted, including nine straight. UD won the IIAC Tournament Championship in 2009 and claimed the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships. … The Spartans have posted 121 victories in 12 years as a varsity program, including 48 wins in the Iowa Conference.