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Cardinal Roster
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Cardinal Statistics
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Cardinal Schedule
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MIAC Standings
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MIAC Statistics
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| 2005-2006 Records: 8-7-3 MIAC, 11-11-3 Overall |
| Last Week's Results: Bethel 2, Saint Mary's 0 / Details Saint Mary's 5, Bethel 3 / Details |
| Upcoming Events: MIAC Tournament Thurs., March 2: SMU at St. Olaf, 7 p.m. Sat., March 4: SMU-STO winner at Gustavus, 7 p.m. |
| Cardinal News and Notes: SMU's win over Bethel on Saturday earned the Cardinals a spot in their sixth straight MIAC playoff. … This is also the second straight year SMU is the tournament's No. 5 seed — the Cardinals knocked off Augsburg 3-1 a year ago, before falling ot Gustavus 5-1 in the semifinals. … SMU opens post-season play at St. Olaf — a team the Cardinals swept (3-1 and 4-3) two weeks ago. …The Cardinals' 2-0 loss to Bethel on Friday snapped their eight-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1). … Jenn Shire (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) scored two goals in SMU's playoff-clinching win over Bethel. … Laura Mueller (St. Paul, Minn.), Melissa Mondo (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) and Laura Langen (New Berlin, Wis.) also scored vs. the Royals. … Mondo's goal vs. Bethel was her team-leading 11th. She also leads the Cardinals in points (20), while Mueller boasts a team-best 11 assists. … SMU currently has six players with 10 or more points. … … Both of SMU's last two losses have come by shutout. … The Cardinals have won 11 or more games in all eight years of the program's existence. |
with MIAC playoff-clinching 5-3 victory over Bethel
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Jenn
Shire 2 G in finale vs. Bethel |
Thanks to their new best friend Concordia.
The Cobbers kept the Cardinals two points in front of Augsburg in the chase for the fifth and final conference playoff spot with a 3-2 victory Friday evening — but Concordia wouldn't be there to bail the Cardinals out again on Saturday, as the Auggies staked their claim to that elusive final playoff spot with a 1-0 win in the teams' rematch Saturday afternoon.
Which meant that if the Cardinals' season was to continue, they were going to have to take matters into their own hands later that same evening.
A win or a tie against the Royals, and SMU would punch its ticket to the five-team conference playoff.
A loss, and the Cardinals would be left on the outside looking in.
Thanks to a three-goal, second-period outburst, the Cardinals find themselves on the inside, looking out, as SMU rebounded from Friday's shutout loss to beat the Royals 5-3 — and grab the No. 5 spot in the MIAC playoffs.
"There's no question we felt the pressure — everyone on this team knew what was at stake," said SMU coach Terry Mannor, whose team will head to St. Olaf for Tuesday's tournament opener. "And I think it showed a little in the way we played.
"It wasn't one of our best efforts, but it was good enough to get the job done, and at this stage in the season, that's all that matters."
The Royals put SMU on its heels, scoring the game's first goal — on their first shot — as Bethel took a 1-0 first-period lead.
SMU rebounded with three goals in the second on tallies by Melissa Mondo (Vadnais Heights, Minn.), Jenn Shire (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) and Laura Langen (New Berlin, Wis.) to take a 3-2 lead into the final period, where the Cardinals got goals from Laura Mueller (St. Paul, Minn.) and Shire to ice the win.
"We came out flying to start the first period, but when they scored that first goal — on their first shot — it really took a lot of wind out of our sails," said Mannor. "We came back out (in the second period) and regained the momentum. I wouldn't say we dominated the last two periods, but we came pretty close for at least 30 of the 40 minutes.
"I'm proud of the way this team worked," continued Mannor. "They never got down and really hung together — they deserve to be in the position they are in."