Saint John's soccer travels to face Saint Mary's for a 7 p.m. match this Saturday, Sept. 17, in Winona. – Live Stats/Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (1-1-3, 0-0-1 MIAC) and St. Thomas opened the 2016 MIAC schedule with a 1-1 tie on Wednesday (Sept. 14) at Haws Field in Collegeville. The Johnnies out-shot UST by a 24-5 margin (7-3 on goal), including a 15-2 margin after halftime, and posted a 9-1 advantage in corner kicks. The Tommies' lone corner kick came with 1:34 left in the second overtime. UST gained a 1-0 lead on a penalty kick in the 23rd minute. Sophomore Zack Boerjan (Woodbury, Minn./East Ridge) tied the game for SJU with 18:24 left in regulation. Boerjan unleashed a shot that was blocked but somehow found the foot of senior Dylan Lehrer (Prior Lake, Minn.), who sent the ball back to the speedy Boerjan. Boerjan juked a UST defender, turned the corner along the left side of the field and sent a wicked shot to the far post for the equalizer, his second tally of the season.

Lehrer looked to have tied the match in the 58th minute, but the goal was disallowed. He charged at a loose ball at the right side the box, ran through a right arm-bar from a Tommie defender (who was attempting to box him out) and headed the ball to the back of the net. Lehrer, however, was called for the foul. Freshman goalkeeper Nicholas French (Waterford, Wis.) made two saves in the tie for the Johnnies, who are now 25-9-3 in their MIAC opener since 1979, including a 14-5-2 record in Collegeville (5-1-1 under the direction of head coach John Haws).

THREE STRAIGHT DRAWS: As mentioned above, SJU has tied each of its last three matches. The last time this occurred was during the 1980 season. Following two road ties at Augsburg (0-0) and Bethel (1-1), SJU played Saint Mary's to a scoreless tie in Collegeville. The streak ended in the next game, which was a 5-0 SJU home win over Bethel. The Johnnies advanced to the second round of the NAIA playoffs later that fall. 

A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Saint Mary's (3-3, 0-1 MIAC) opened conference play with a 5-1 loss at Augsburg Wednesday night. Two of the Auggies' goals were penalty kicks. Shots were even at 11 apiece, though Augsburg registered nine corner kicks to SMU's three. Junior Garrett Grunke leads the team with five points (2g/1a) in six games, followed by classmate Sean Butcher with four (2g/0a). Saturday's match is just the second at home for the Cardinals this fall. 

LAST YEAR: SJU responded from a 1-0 halftime deficit with four goals in the second half, including two from Alex Niederloh '16, to top Saint Mary's 4-1 last Sept. 19 (2015) at Haws Field. Niederloh tied the match for SJU at 1-1 with his first goal of the season 1:26 into the second half and added his second of the day on a penalty kick in the 74th minute. Senior Sam Newman (St. Louis, Mo./Priory) scored what proved to be the game-winning goal, his second of the season, in the 56th minute. Junior Nic Kramer (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake) ended the scoring with his first collegiate goal in the 81st minute. Jim Dreshar gave the Cardinals their 1-0 lead with 1:42 left in the first half, his team-leading third goal of the season.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies lead the series with a 29-4-3 record since 1981, including a 13-2-1 mark in Winona. SJU takes a six-game winning streak in the series to SMU's pitch on Saturday, as well as wins in 15 of the last 16 meetings.