WINONA, Minn. — Finally!

After more than 632 minutes — more than seven games — the Saint Mary's University women's soccer team finally had a goal to show for its efforts.

Jody Kielbasa's (White Bear Lake, Minn.) first collegiate goal two minutes into the second half of Saturday's MIAC game against St. Catherine tied the game at 1-1, ending an SMU scoreless drought dating back to Sept. 15 — when Bernadette Balla (Barrington, Ill.) scored to give SMU a 1-0 win over Benedictine.

Unfortunately, while Kielbasa's goal finally snapped SMU out of its month-long scoring funk, it wasn't enough to end the Cardinals' eight-game losing streak as St. Catherine scored three times in the game's final 20 minutes Saturday en route to a 4-1 victory.

"That goal felt so good," admitted SMU coach Dan Blank, whose team had been outscored 30-0 in its last seven games. "When Jody's shot went in, it was like a huge weight was lifted off our shoulders."

Yet, while one shoulder felt the relief of finally getting on the scoreboard, the Cardinals' other shoulder still carried the burden of eight straight losses.

"This was another one of those games where I don't think the final score was really indicative of the game," Blank said. "For most of the game, we played even with (St. Catherine), but in the end, our lack of depth came back to haunt us. We made some defensive mistakes over the last 16 minutes and they capitalized on every one of them."

St. Catherine got on the board first at the 12:11 mark, as Jen Gruenhagon beat SMU goalie Dianna Kyllo (Kasson, Minn.). Kielbasa pulled the Cardinals even two minutes into the second half, but three quick goals by the Wildcats — two coming off the foot of Delinda Tamangi — in a 16-minute span late in the second half proved to be the difference.

"When we scored to tie the game, everyone seemed to lift their games up a bit, and for the first 30 minutes of the second half, I thought we pretty much controlled the play," Blank said. "But that last 15 minutes or so, we just ran out of gas.

"It's been a tough road," continued Blank. "But I see improvement almost every day. We're starting to put some attacks together, but more importantly, everyone comes out every day and works hard to improve. Their attitude is always positive and they never stop battling — and that's encouraging."

• THIS AND THAT: Jody Kielbasa's (White Bear Lake, Minn.) second-half goal vs. St. Catherine was her first collegiate goal, and SMU's first since Bernadette Balla (Barrington, Ill.) scored vs. Benedictine on Sept 15 — a span of 632 minutes. … SMU has been outscored 34-1 during its current eight-game losing streak. … Both of SMU's goals have come in the second half, while the Cardinals' opponents have scored 30 first-half goals and 31 in the second half. … The Cardinals have been outshot 220-45, with Dianna Kyllo (Kasson, Minn.) and Emily Strom (Waterford, Wis.) teaming to make 159 saves.