The Johnnie soccer team travels to face Saint Mary's for a 3 p.m. match this Saturday, Oct. 20, in Winona. – Live Video
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Sophomore Ian Scudder (Sherwood, Ore.) tallied two goals, his fifth and sixth in the last three matches, as the Johnnies (7-5-3, 4-2-1 MIAC) blanked Macalester 3-0 Oct. 17 in Collegeville. Scudder gave SJU a 1-0 lead three minutes into the match with an assist going to junior Michael Coborn (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral). Sophomore David Wee (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake) and Coborn created a mini breakaway for Scudder to make it 2-0 at the 26:46 mark. Wee ended the scoring with his sixth goal of the season 2:52 into the second half. Coborn split the Macalester defense, chipped it ahead to Scudder who then found Wee all alone in the front. Freshman Kevin Lebahn (New Hope, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) made five saves to earn his second career shutout and improve to 4-4-1 on the year.
LEADING THE MIAC: Coborn currently leads the MIAC (all games) with 11 assists on the season, while Scudder boasts a league-leading 17 points (7g/3a) in conference play.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: Saint John's boasts the fourth-strongest strength of schedule in the NCAA North Region (.606). The formula combines the opponents' in-region winning percentage with the opponents', opponent in-region winning percentage. Wisconsin-Whitewater currently touts the strongest schedule at .639, followed by Augsburg (.638) and Nebraska Wesleyan (.624).
A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Saint Mary's (6-8-1, 3-4-0 MIAC) dropped a 3-1 decision in its most recent match Oct. 16 at Grinnell (Iowa). The Cardinals posted a 4-6 record in September but were outscored 26-12 in the 10 matches. SMU is led by a pair of freshmen, Krystian Drozdz and Jaime Zepeda, who both carry seven points on the season. Sophomore Christian Van Dam (3-3-0 record, .735 save pct., 1.83 GAA) leads a trio of keepers that combine for a .716 save percentage and a 2.17 GAA on the year.
LAST YEAR'S MEETING: Saint John's jumped out to an early 2-0 lead en route to a 3-0 win over Saint Mary's last Oct 22. Scudder put SJU on the scoreboard 10:12 into the match. Just 1:08 later, senior Andrew Johnson (St. Louis Park, Minn.) laced a low corner kick directly to Sam Hautman's head and to the back of the net to put SJU up 2-0. Junior Joe Balder (Stillwater, Minn.) increased the Johnnies' lead to 3-0 at the 77:09 mark of the match. Mike Sikich '12 made seven saves to record his first collegiate shutout. SJU out-shot the Cardinals 33-14, including a 16-7 advantage on goal (9-2 in the first half alone).
SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 25-4-3 against the Cardinals since 1981, including an 11-2-1 record in Winona.
