DEPERE, Wis. — In their season opener against Simpson last Thursday, it was Mike Schmitt (Woodridge, Ill.) to the rescue, as the Saint Mary's University junior scored midway through the second half to lift the Cardinals to a 1-1 tie.

Saturday afternoon, the Cardinals once again found themselves playing catch-up — only this time, there were no SMU heroes to dig them out of the hole.

St. Norbert scored once in the first half and twice in the second – the third goal actually scored by SMU into its own net – as the Green Knights handed the Cardinals their first loss of the season, 3-0.

"We just did not play well — there was no energy out there at all," said SMU coach Eric Luzzi. "It was like night and day when you compare this game to the Simpson game. We didn't come away with a win (against Simpson), but we played very well and put ourselves in position to win.

"That type of energy just wasn't there this time."

The Cardinals equalled the Knights' offensive chances in the first half, as both teams managed three shots on goal. But it was St. Norbert that made the most of its shots, as Nick Bonifas beat SMU goalkeeper Ryan O'Connor (San Diego, Calif.) in the game's 11th minute.

Tyler Merkatoris made it 2-0 12 minutes into the second half, and, four minutes later, the Green Knights' lead climbed to 3-0 when a St. Norbert cross deflected off an SMU player and into the Cardinals' goal.

O'Connor finished with three saves, while a pair of St. Norbert goalies combined for six saves.

"This game was a little disappointing, but overall, I'm pretty happy with the way we've performed these first two games," said Luzzi, whose team returns to action Monday, playing host to Loras in a nonconference game. "It will be nice to get home and play in front of our fans — hopefully we can come out and put on a good show."