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| 2005 Records: 1-2-0 MIAC, 1-5-1 Overall |
| Last Week's Results: Macalester 2, Saint Mary's 0 / Details |
| Upcoming Events: Tues., Sept. 27: Gustavus at SMU, 4 p.m. Sat., Oct. 1: SMU at Concordia, 2 p.m. |
| This and That: The Cardinals' struggles against Macalester continued last Saturday, as SMU had its winless streak vs. the Scots extended to 19 straight (0-15-4) with their 2-0 loss. … SMU's last win vs. Macalester was on Oct. 15, 1986. … The Cardinals have also been shut out in each of their last five meetings vs. Macalester. … Last Saturday's game vs. Macalester was just the second home game of the season for SMU. … The Cardinals have failed to score a goal in any of its five losses. … The Cardinals have given up eight goals in the first half and seven in the second – including one in each half vs. the Scots last Saturday. … Mike Schmitt (Woodridge, Ill.) has scored two of SMU's three goals, while Matthew Montgomery (Columbus, Ohio.) has accounted for the other. … GK Ryan O'Connor (San Diego, Calif.) has played every minute in goal for the Cardinals, stopping 56 shots and compiling a 2.08 goals-against-average. |
hard-luck 2-0 loss to conference power Macalester
WINONA, Minn. — When Eric Luzzi looked at the scoreboard following last Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's soccer game, he had to do a double-take.
And then shake his head in disbelief.
It wasn't that his Saint Mary's University men's soccer team had come out on the short end of a 2-0 decision, it was the fact that Luzzi couldn't believe how close his team actually was to ending its 19-game winless streak against the Scots.
"That final score doesn't even come close to telling the whole story," said Luzzi. "Take away the first two minutes of each half, and it's a 0-0 game — at the very least. Now add the fact that we had three unbelievable scoring chances — chances that should have resulted in goals — and we could very well have won this one 2-0.
"It's a tough loss to take, but the effort we put forth makes it a little easier to swallow."
Macalester, which has not lost to the Cardinals since Oct. 15, 1986 — and has now shut out SMU in each off the teams' last five meetings — wasted little time getting on the scoreboard Saturday. Joe Wertz broke free down the right side and feathered a pass to Michael Melamed, who redirected the pass into the wide open net.
"That was a tough goal, just because it came so early in the game and really took a little wind out of our sails," said Luzzi, whose team had not played since snapping its season-opening five-game winless streak with a 2-1 win over Carleton a week ago. "But instead of hanging on heads and feeling sorry for ourselves, we kept battling. We had a great scoring chance late (in the half) which would have really been a big boost heading into halftime."
As quickly as the Scots came out in the first half, they were equally as quick in the second, as Magnus Oppenheimer netted his team-leading fifth goal less than three minutes in to give Macalester a commanding 2-0 advantage.
"We made two costly mistakes, and it cost us two goals," said Luzzi, whose team had two golden opportunities in the second half, but both Mike Schmitt (Woodridge, Ill.) and Louie Lamanna (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) were robbed by Scots' goalkeeper Ryan Palmer. "(Palmer) made huge saves on both Mike and Louie — we score on one or both of those, and who knows what would have happened.
"It's a tough game to lose — but the guys played hard for 90 minutes, and as a coach, that's all you can ask for."