NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's soccer team put together its first two-game winning streak of the season with a victory Wednesday — but it was anything but easy.

The Cardinals got three goals from Mike Boland (Lake Zurich, Ill.) — including the game-winner with less than two minutes remaining in the second overtime — as SMU beat Carleton 3-2.

Boland, the Cardinals' leading scorer a year ago,  had been held goalless through SMU's first 11 games — but that all changed Wednesday.

Carleton got on the board first, as Dave Watson beat SMU goalkeeper Tyler Nelson (Racine, Wis.) on a penalty kick just 12 minutes into the opening half. Boland evened things up 19 minutes later as the teams battled to a 1-1 tie through 45 minutes.

The Knights regained the lead midway through the second half, but it was Boland to the rescue again, converting a penalty kick with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. Boland then completed the hat trick — and SMU's first two-game winning streak — taking a feed from Jake Endemann (Woodridge, Ill.) and beating Carleton goalie Ross Mattson with 1:48 remaining in the second OT.

"It was a typical game for us — up and down, up and down," said SMU coach Eric Luzzi, whose team improved to 3-3-1 in the MIAC and 3-8-1 overall. "We didn't play exceptionally well, but we finally got a few breaks to go our way, and we cashed in on them."