WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's soccer team returns to their home field on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain UW-Stout in a 7 p.m. nonconference match at Ochrymowycz Field.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0-0 Overall) vs. UW-Stout Blue Devils (0-0-0 Overall)
 
Last Action:
The Cardinals got two goals from Emily Loof (Colorado Springs, Colo.) — including the game-winner midway through the second overtime — as Saint Mary's opened its 2014 season with a 2-1 win over UW-River Falls last Sunday at Ochrymowycz Field | Recap … The Blue Devils will make their 2014 debut vs. Saint Mary's on Wednesday.
 
SMU vs. UW-Stout — Their Last Meeting:
October 23, 2008: The last time Saint Mary's and UW-Stout women's soccer teams squared off, the Blue Devils put an end to the Cardinals' 23-game nonconference winning streak with a 2-1 victory in 2007. This time around, the Blue Devils were their streak-snapping selves — again — as UW-Stout put an end to Saint Mary's six-game nonconference unbeaten streak (5-0-1), beating the Cardinals 5-1 in Menomonie, Wis. | Recap
 
Up Next:
The Cardinals will play their first road game of the season on Saturday, as Saint Mary's travels to Superior, Wis., for a 2 p.m. nonconference game against UW-Superior. … UW-Stout returns home on Sunday, squaring off against Saint Benedict in a 1 p.m. nonconference game in Menomonie, Wis.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2014 Statistics
Saint Mary's game against UW-Stout is its second straight home game. After Wednesday's matchup with the Blue Devils, the Cardinals will play their next six contests on the road, before finally returning home again on Oct. 1 to face Gustavus.
… The Cardinals' 2-1 win over UW-River Falls was their first overtime victory since beating Gustavus 1-0 in double-overtime on Sept. 29, 2009. … Emily Loof (Colorado Springs, Colo.) scored her first two collegiate goals against UW-River Falls. … Caroline Blackwood (Norwalk, Ohio) and Carina Friend (Colorado Springs, Colo.) picked up assists on Loof's two goals vs. UW-River Falls. It was Blackwood's third career assist and the first collegiate helper for Friend. … Blackwood has now had one assist in each of her first three seasons as a Cardinal. … Victoria Perez (Upland, Calif.) made her first collegiate start in goal against UW-River Falls, stopping four of the five shots she faced in the first half. … Miranda Halling (Rochester, Minn.) played the second half and the two OTs in goal to pick up the win. Halling stopped all three Falcon shots she faced. … Both of Saint Mary's goals vs. UW-River Falls came after halftime. The Cardinals have now scored 10 of their last 12 goals after the break.
 
Scouting The UW-Stout Blue Devils:
2014 Roster | 2014 Schedule | 2013 Final Statistics
The Blue Devils were scheduled to open their season last weekend against St. Catherine, but had their nonconference game against St. Catherine postponed twice due to inclement weather. … UW-Stout's game against Saint Mary's is the first of three straight nonconference games against teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Blue Devils will square off against Saint Benedict on Sunday and Bethel next Tuesday. UW-Stout also has MIAC foes Macalester (Sept. 23), Hamline (Oct. 7) and Gustavus (Oct. 22) on its schedule this season. … The Blue Devils return four of their six top scorers from last year. … For the first time in nearly a decade, Stout landed four players on the All-WIAC team — and three of those players return, including midfielder Jenna Kizlik, goalkeeper Paige Meyer and forward Lauren Kizlik. … The Kizlik sisters were among the team's leaders in scoring a year ago. Lauren was second on the team with five goals and one assist for 11 points, while Jenna — who missed nine games — finished with a pair of goals and a pair of assists. … Meyer alternated in goal early during the season a year ago, but when the calendar turned to October she began to grab the majority of starts, including six during conference play. Meyer finished the year at 5-5-1, posting a goals-against-average of 1.19 and a save percentage of .851.