WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer team kicks off its 2014 season on Sunday, as the Cardinals host UW-River Falls in a 1 p.m. nonconference game at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2013 Record: 0-18-0 Overall) vs. UW-River Falls Falcons (2013 Record: 6-11-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Video Preview | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
Today's contest is the season-opener for both the Cardinals and the Falcons.
 
SMU vs. UW-River Falls — Their Last Meeting:
September 4, 2013: UW-River Falls scored a pair of goals in the game's opening 45 minutes — including one just four minutes in — and never looked back in dealing Saint Mary's a 6-0 nonconference setback at Ramer Field in River Falls, Wis. | Recap
 
Up Next:
The Cardinals are right back on their home turf on Wednesday, hosting UW-Stout in a 7 p.m. nonconference game. … UW-River Falls is also back in action on Wednesday, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., for a 5 p.m. nonconference game against Hamline.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2013 Final Statistics
Bethany Schmidt (Sparta, Wis.) closed out the season as the team's offensive leader for the second year in a row, scoring three goals and adding an assist for seven points in her final year in a Cardinal uniform. … After not scoring in her first two seasons, Schmidt scored five goals in her final two years as a Cardinal. … Caroline Blackwood (Norwalk, Ohio) — a two-time MIAC honorable-mention selection — and Kelli Harstad (Hampton, Minn.) finished second to Schmidt in goals with two each in 2013. … Saint Mary's seven assists last year came from seven different players — Blackwood, Schmidt, Harstad, Katie Holmes (Edina, Minn.), Emma Schaefer (Falcon Heights, Minn.), Megan Nitzsche (St. Francis, Wis.) and Katie Nicoson (Fairmont, Minn.). … Four Saint Mary's players — Harstad, Blackwood, Schaefer and Heidi Martin (Ankeny, Iowa) — scored their first collegiate goal last season. … Goalkeeper Miranda Halling (Rochester, Minn.) recorded a season-high 15 saves in Saint Mary's season-finale against Macalester on Nov. 2. … Halling's 15-save effort — the 12th time in her three-year collegiate career that she has recorded 10 or more saves in a game — was just one shy of her career-best 16-save showing against Concordia on Sept. 29, 2012. … Halling made a team-leading 10 starts in goal for the Cardinals a year ago, finishing with a team-leading 3.06 goals-against-average and a .742 save percentage, while Aubrie Cornell (Holts Summit, Mo.) finished her first season as a Cardinal with a 3.50 GAA and a .659 save percentage in eight starts. … Halling — who led the MIAC in saves in 2012 — owned a team-high 89 saves last season. … Cornell recorded a career-high 13 saves against UW-La Crosse on Oct. 23. … Eight of Saint Mary's 10 goals last season were scored after halftime. … The Cardinals' three-goal effort against No. 16 Loras on Oct. 9 was their highest offensive output of the season, and the most goals scored in a single game since netting three goals in a 3-1 win over St. Catherine on Oct. 16, 2011.
 
Scouting The UW-River Falls Falcons:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2013 Final Statistics
The Falcons enter Friday's opener against Saint Mary's coming off a 6-11-1 season a year ago. … After putting together a season-high 3-0-1 run in early October, the Falcons closed out 2013 dropping their last four contests. … UW-River Falls was held scoreless in eight of its 11 losses a year ago. On the flip side, the Falcons scored three or more goals four times. … The Falcons enter 2014 without the services of leading scorer Anna Kouba and top goalkeeper Becca Kramer. Kouba closed out her UW-River Falls career with a team-leading 17 points a year ago, while Kramer appeared in 15 of the team's 18 games, compiling a 1.46 goals-against-average and an .806 save percentage. … Alex Swatloski closed out 2013 with a team-best seven goals and was second to Kouba with 15 points. … Alyssa Manor owned the team lead in assists with six, one more than Kouba. … Swatloski and Kouba shared the team lead with two game-winning goals each. … UW-River Falls outscored its opponents 13-12 in the first half, but were outscored 16-13 after halftime. … The Falcons played two overtime games in 2013 — battling UW-Platteville to a 0-0 double-overtime tie, while also falling to UW-Eau Claire 2-1 in OT.