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Tuesday, October 29, 2002 |
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(Through Monday, October 28) |
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The Cardinals had their two-game winning streak snapped with a 3-1 loss to St. John’s last Saturday. … Hamline, meanwhile, dropped its second straight, losing to Bethel 5-1 Saturday. |
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Eric Brown scored three goals and assisted on another as the Cardinals snapped a five-game losing streak wtih a 4-1 win over Hamline on Oct. 17, 2001. |
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SMU's loss to St. John's snapped the Cardinals' first two-game winning streak of the season. … Mike Boland (Lake Zurich, Ill.) netted his team-leading 10th goal vs. SJU. … The Cardinals have scored first in all six of their wins and 11 of their 14 overall games. … 16 of SMU's goals have been scored in the first half, while the Cardinals have been outscored 13-6 in the second half. … The Cardinals have not lost two in a row since back-to-back losses to Central and UW-Whitewater in early September. |
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Freshman / Defender Hometown Major |
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's soccer team put together its first two-game winning streak of the season last weekend, knocking off Rockford (2-1) and Benedictine (4-0) in a pair of nonconference games.
The wins gave the Cardinals some much-needed momentum heading into the stretch run of the conference season — which began Saturday afternoon at St. John's.
So much for a triumphant return to MIAC play.
The Johnnies scored three unanswered goals in a 16-minute span of the first half en route to a 3-1 victory over the Cardinals.
"It was almost like reliving the early part of the season," said SMU coach Eric Luzzi. "For the first 15-20 minutes of the half, we dominated play. And then for the rest of the half, it was all St. John's."
But that's where the similarities stop.
"Early in the season, when we found ourselves down a goal or two, there wasn't a sense of urgency to try to get back into the game. We just kind of threw in the towel," Luzzi said. "(Against St. John's), we didn't do that. We played a very good second half and battled right to the end."
Mike Boland (Lake Zurich, Ill.) got the Cardinals (3-2-1 MIAC, 6-6-2 overall) on the board first, scoring his team-leading 10th goal of the season at the 7:08 mark of the first half. The lead, however, was short-lived as Ben Bahr beat SMU goalkeeper Bob Endemann (Woodridge, Ill.) at the 19:03 mark to tie the game at 1-1. Mike Rutter would make it 2-1 eight minutes later and Travis Miller completed the scoring at the 35:28 mark.
"This was one of those games that really shows you how important it is to stay focused and play at the top of your game all the time," said Luzzi. "Had we not had that letdown in the first half, the result could have been a lot different."
And the Cardinals' hopes for a shot at the school's first-ever conference title would have still been alive.
"We've got 12 days and four games left in the season," said Luzzi, whose team plays host to Hamline (Tuesday) and Bethel (Saturday), before closing out its season on the road at St. Olaf (Nov. 5) and Macalester (Nov. 8). "And while we may not have a shot at winning the conference, we've still got a lot to play for. Seven wins in the conference (if the Cardinals run the table in their final four games) would be the most in school history and would probably put us in the top three in the conference — which would also be a first.
"So there's still plenty on the line for us."