DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica men's and women's soccer teams will head to Martin Luther College on Friday and then Bethany Lutheran College on Saturday for a couple of key Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) matchups.


Game Times
Friday: Women @ 2 p.m.; Men @ 4 p.m.
Saturday: Women @ Noon; Men @ 2 p.m.


Men's Soccer

Last Action:
The Saints began conference play on Tuesday by defeating Northland College 4-1 in Ashland, Wis. CSS surrendered the first goal, but responded with three goals in the span of 1:13 seconds at the end of the first half. #Cody Sveiven#, #Greg Doornink#, #Jermaine Dacres#, and #Erik Trochimchuk# each scored their first goals of the season. Sam Reed (Eastbourne, England/Causeway School) earned the win in net.

St. Scholastica Saints (3-2-0, 1-0-0 UMAC)
The Saints have won three straight games and are out-shooting their opponents 56-38 so far this season … Six of the eight goals this season have come in the first half … After struggled on penalty kicks last season, the Saints are 1-for-1 to start this season … Senior #Toby Peter# and freshman #Rob Johnson# lead the team with four points (1 goal, 2 assists) and both have game-winning goals … After playing in every minute last season, goalkeeper #Sam Reed# was taken out of Tuesday's contest with 20 minutes to go … CSS has a 37-20 advantage on corner kicks this season.

Martin Luther Knights (1-1-0, 0-0-0 UMAC)
The Knights have played just two games this season, both out of conference … The Knights won their season opener 2-0 over Lakeland College (Wis.) … The Knights then fell to Waldorf College (Iowa) 3-0 … The Knights are at home the first four games of the season … The Knights are picked to finish seventh in the UMAC, according to the UMAC Preseason Coaches' poll … The Knights return a number of young players from 2009 … Leading the group of returning players on offense are Nathan Gurgel and Joey Molyneaux, who each finished with three goals last year. Levi Dunsmoor and John Paustian also return, giving the Knights some experience up front. Dunsmoor accounted for two of the team's assists in 2009. On defense, Martin Luther brings back three key players in Steve White, Julius Buelow and Ben Schone. The Knights are also looking forward to the return of Andrew Danner after and is also looking to get Andrew Danner back after the defenseman missed last year's season with an injury.

Last Meeting: (All-time Series: 19-9-0 CSS)
The Saints completed the season sweep of Martin Luther with a 2-0 triumph. #Brandon Stemwedel# and #Jim Atol# each scored for CSS

Bethany Lutheran Vikings (3-1-0, 0-0-0 UMAC)
The Vikings are off to a 3-1 start this season … The Vikings defeated both Buena Vista and Robert Morris 1-0 to begin the season, but fell to Cardinal Stritch 2-0 for its first loss … BLC is coming off a 4-0 win over North Central (Minn.) on Tuesday … The Vikings were picked to finish fourth in the UMAC preseason coaches' poll … BLC returns every player who scored last season including first team all-conference midfielders Felipe Ortega and Evans Tackie-Yarboi … Tackie-Yarboi scored six goals a year ago, while Ortega finished with one goal … All-conference honorable mention Joe Nuah also returns … Nuah was the team's leading scorer last year with eight goals … In addition to its core group of returning players, freshman Johnny Luna, who was a part of the state championship team in Nevada last year, and all-conference player Chase Kappel are expected to make an immediate impact in 2010 … In between the pipes, senior Cameron Koopman will be vying for the starting spot after the departure of Will Tatge.

Last Meeting: (All-time Series: 11-1-0 CSS)
The Saints needed a late goal in the 81st minute by #Dustin James# to break a 1-1 tie as the Saints completed the season sweep last season, winning 2-1.


Women's Soccer

Last Action:
The Saints picked up their first “W” of the 2010 season with a 6-1 victory over Northland College on Tuesday. CSS led 1-0 at halftime and then exploded for five goals in the second half. #Taylor Cunningham# netted her first two collegiate goals. #Shannon Carlson#, #Shannon Lee# also added their first collegiate goals. #Megan Marolt# had her first collegiate goal taken away when it was later ruled that her goal should be credited as an own goal.

St. Scholastica Saints (1-4-0, 1-0-0 UMAC)
Entering Tuesday's game at Northland, the Saints had managed to score just one goal in its first four games, which were all losses … However three of the four losses either came in overtime or in the final 10 minutes of regulation against three NCAA Tournament caliber opponents … The Saints have not lost a conference regular season game in 72 straight matches … The Saints are getting out-shot 64-44 this season, but have only allowed seven goals … Corners are virtually even with the opponents having a slight edge 17-15.

Martin Luther Knights (1-2-0, 0-0-0 UMAC)
The Knights won their season opener vs. Lakeland College (Wis.) 9-0, but since have dropped two straight games by a combined 9-1 … The one common opponent between the Knights and Saints, Gustavus Adolphus, defeated Martin Luther 7-0, while beating the Saints 1-0 … The Knights were picked to finish seventh in the UMAC preseason coaches' poll … MLC returns seven starters from last season's team, including leading scorers Kadie Drake, Heidi Heckmann and Emily Marggraf … Defenders Lindsay Hahn and Heidi Wilz, and goalkeeper Abigail Horn are also back for the Knights … Martin Luther also hopes the return of Hannah Janke, who missed last season because of injury, will help add to the offense.

Last Meeting: (All-time Series: 17-10-4 CSS)
The Saints defeated the Knights 6-0 in New Ulm to complete the season sweep last season. #Rainee Eby# scored her first collegiate goal in the contest.

Bethany Lutheran Vikings (4-1-0, 0-0-0 UMAC)
The Vikings enter the weekend on a four-game winning streak, winning the last four games by a combined score of 26-2 … BLC lost its season opener to Buena Vista (Iowa) 1-0 … The Vikings were picked to finish in the UMAC preseason coaches' poll … The Vikings return eight starters and the team's top ten scorers in 2010 … Returning after a season-ending injury which limited her to only five contests, Joelle Pipal looks to rebound with a big year offensively … Helping Pipal on offense will be UMAC First Team All-Conference forward Kristin Renner and all-conference honorable mention midfielder Anna Potz … Defensively, the Vikings return four of their back five defenders, but lose four-year starter and all-conference goalkeeper Katie Renner … Bethany Lutheran will be looking for junior Amy Anderson and a pair of freshman to step and fill the void in front of the net.

Last Meeting: (All-time Series: 10-0-0 CSS)
The Saints defeated the Vikings 6-0 in Mankato to complete the season sweep. #Bailey Mahlum# earned the win in net.