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Saturday, September 21, 2002 |
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(Through Friday, September 20) |
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Bob Endemann stopped all four shots he faced as the Cardinals battled to a 0-0 tie with Augsburg in the teams’ MIAC opener on Wednesday. … Carleton, meanwhile, lost its conference opener, 4-0 to Gustavus Wednesday. |
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Eric Brown had a hand in all three SMU goals, scoring twice and assisting on the other, while Matt Peck stopped all four Carleton shots as the Cardinals blanked the Knights 3-0. |
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With Wednesday’s tie, the Cardinals saw their winless streak climb to four games (0-2-2). … After scoring three goals in its season-opener vs. Viterbo (a 3-1 win), SMU has managed just three goals in its next four games. … SMU has given up seven second-half goals. … The Cardinals have scored first in each game in which they have scored. … Carleton has been outscored 6-0 in its three losses. |
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Senior / Defender Hometown Major |
WINONA, Minn. — After giving up seven goals in its last game, Saint Mary's University men's soccer coach Eric Luzzi knew his Cardinals needed to be a little more disciplined in their defensive end.
Wednesday night in their MIAC-opener against Augsburg, the Cardinals were just that — downright defensive.
Unfortunately, while the SMU defense held the Auggies scoreless — allowing just four shots on goal — the Cardinals' offense failed to hold up its end of the bargain as the two teams settled for a 0-0 double-overtime tie.
“As a coach, it’s the kind of game that drives you crazy,” said Eric Luzzi. “We dominated most the game, we just couldn’t put the ball in the net.
“Augsburg is a much-improved team,” Luzzi continued. “But I thought it was the kind of game were we had the upper hand from start to finish.
“If the goal was nine yards wide instead of eight, we probably would have won 4-0.”
The Cardinals attempted 29 shots, but hit the net with just seven of them. Bob Endemann (Woodridge, Ill.) stopped all four shots he faced, while Augsburg goalies Han Zeller and Chad Clausen combined to stop all seven Cardinal shots.
“Defensively, we’re playing very well, and offensively, we are creating a lot of good scoring opportunities,” said Luzzi, whose team has a busy weekend ahead, playing host to Carleton in an MIAC game today, and then hosting Simpson in a nonconference game Sunday. “We’re just not getting rewarded for them.”
And the result of that lack of offensive firepower has been a four-game winless streak (0-2-2) during which SMU has scored just three goals.
“I know it’s just a matter of time before everything starts clicking for us,” said Luzzi. “And when that happens, we’ll be in good shape.”
Just when that will be, however, is one question Luzzi doesn’t have the answer to.