University of St. Thomas Athletics
Photo by: Wesley Dean
Gene's Blog: In purple or white, Mariah has a game for the ages
10/4/2022 7:08:00 PM | Women's Soccer, Gene's Blog
Here are 15 things that every Tommie sports fan should memorize for this week:
Dandy Double
1. Mariah Nguyen did something this season believed to be unprecedented in NCAA D-I women's soccer. The Tommie sophomore soccer forward scored two goals in the same game... tallied 962 hours apart over two different months... in two different states... on fields 260 miles apart on the map... wearing two different uniform colors.
Starting this season the NCAA allows a suspended game to be resumed from the point it was halted. In past seasons, such games were reset to zero for a full 90 minutes. In most cases the games simply were not rescheduled.
The Toms' season-opening Aug. 18 home game vs. UW-Green Bay was suspended by lightning in the 53rd minute and didn't resume that night. The Toms, wearing home white uniforms, were ahead 2-0 on goals contributed by Jasmine Gates and Nguyen. When the game resumed in Green Bay on Sept. 27, Nguyen, wearing her purple away No. 23 uniform, scored an insurance goal to close out a 3-0 victory.
Measured another way, the Minnesota Twins were one game behind the first-place Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central when Nguyen scored her first goal of that game. By the time she scored her second goal of the contest 40 days later, the Twins were 12 games back.
That was part of a recent five-game, 10-day span when Nguyen contributed three goals and two assists to help the Toms post three wins, a tie and a 1-0 loss. Nguyen's 12 season points (four goals, four assists) tie her for third most among all Summit League players.
Most Improved
2. Coach Sheila McGill's women's soccer team already has built a 6-3-3 record with five games remaining, surpassing the four wins posted in the 2021 inaugural D-I year. Women's Soccer is on pace to become the Tommies' most improved team from last season to this season.
The Toms have already played rematches against seven teams they lost to and one they tied in 2021. They have a 5-1-2 record against those eight in 2022. In the loss, to Marquette, they fell 2-1 after losing 3-0 last season. They've also played preseason exhibition game vs. the Minnesota Gophers: a 6-0 defeat in 2021, and a 2-0 loss this season.
Through the first 12 games last season, St. Thomas was outscored 20-9. Through the first 12 this season, they have outscored foes 17-9. With one more win or two ties, they can secure at least a .500 record for the season.
Streak on the Line
3. News flash: Glenn Caruso's Tommies win a lot of football games on campus.
The last time St. Thomas lost at O'Shaughnessy Stadium -- December 3, 2016 -- Barack Obama was president, TikTok was in its development stages in China, and Radio Shack stores were still prevalent across the nation's strip malls.
St. Thomas has won 23 consecutive on-campus home games, also 42 of its last 43. Counting regular-season games only, that number is 33 victories in a row. It also includes a 6-0 home record as an FCS program.
Among all 660-plus NCAA football teams, only Clemson has a better home record since the start of the 2017 season. The five longest current on-campus win streaks in NCAA football are Clemson (37), Cincinnati (29), St. Thomas (23), Oregon (22) and Linfield (21).
The Tommie home win streak will get its toughest test this Saturday with defending Pioneer Football League champion Davidson in town for a 1 p.m. kickoff. The Wildcats (4-1 overall, 2-0 Pioneer) have won 13 of their last 15 conference games and were the preseason pick to repeat as league champion. Davidson, which is receiving votes in the national FCS poll, leads all 660-plus NCAA teams in rushing at 389 yards a game.
At last season's meeting played in North Carolina, the Toms trailed Davidson just 21-15 early in the second half before losing by a 42-15 count. The Purple were outgained 533-236 in total yards that day, including 392 rushing yards allowed.
St. Thomas (3-1 overall, 1-0 Pioneer) can hope that this fact bears out: over the last three seasons, Davidson is 10-0 at home but just 6-7 on the road (five road defeats to scholarship teams).
Pioneer teams are 18-7 at home and 4-19 away so far in 2022. Last season, conference teams went 31-26 at home and 24-37 in away games.
Big-Time Balance
4. Here's an unusual stat: Tommie Football has scored 17 touchdowns, tallied by 13 different players. Running back Shawn Shipman has scored five, with no others having more than one. In 2021, 13 different Tommies scored the team's 35 TDs.
5. Also, the Toms have allowed just two first-half touchdowns in their 3-1 start.
6. The Toms have led in 12 of their 14 games so far in the D-I era (all except in 2021 road losses to Northern Iowa and Davidson). Over the last five seasons of the D-III era, the Purple led at some point -- or were tied in the fourth quarter -- against 59 of their last 61 opponents.
7. St. Thomas' defense has allowed foes just a 21-percent conversion rate on third downs. That's fourth best among 261 teams in Division I (FBS or FCS) behind Minnesota (19 percent), Alabama (20 percent), and Deion Sanders' Jackson State team (20 percent).
Tough Teams
8. Last weekend, St. Thomas Men's Hockey played twice against the now No. 10-ranked St. Cloud State Huskies, losing 3-1 and 4-0. This weekend, Tommie teams in soccer, football and hockey will play four more opponents that, like St. Cloud State, competed in 2021-22 NCAA tournaments:
Besides the Davidson game in football here on Saturday, are three other 2021-22 postseason teams face Tommie teams this weekend:
Revenge on the 'Rabbits
9. Men's Golf won the 14-team Big O tournament hosted by the Omaha Mavericks, beating five Summit League opponents in the 54-hole tourney that ended Tuesday. It was the Tommies' first Division I tournament victory in any sport after three second-place finishes in 2021-22.
10. Along the way, St. Thomas finished 24 strokes ahead of ninth-place South Dakota State in this tourney. This marks the first Tommie win in any sport in the D-I era against SDSU, the reigning conference all-sport champion. The Jackrabbits finished ahead of the Toms' in all 2021-22 meetings in men's and women's golf, swim-dive, track and field and cross country. They also recorded more than a dozen head-to-head wins in basketball, soccer, volleyball, baseball and softball.
In Case Someone Asks...
11. The best visitor team nickname of the school year is in play this Friday and Saturday in Mendota Heights as the Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks play St. Thomas. UAF has an eight-plus hour flight to the Twin Cities covering more than 3,000 miles and calling for four or five bags of those tiny pretzels.
12. Problems around Hurricane Ian caused the cancelation of last Saturday's Stetson at San Diego game in the Pioneer Football League. Stetson was facing a five-hour flight that would cover 2,400 miles each way. That cancelation means San Diego Football goes five consecutive weekends without a home game.
13. Tommie Women's Hockey plays its ever first games in Madison, Wis., this Friday and Saturday. All three Tommie-Badger 2021-22 meetings were played in Mendota Heights due to a mid-season Covid issue. These WCHA openers could be called the J&J Bowl as UW coach Mark Johnson squares off against Tommie coach Joel Johnson.
14. In just 33 days, both Tommie Basketball teams start regular-season play. Tommie Men's Hoops opens its 2022-23 season on the road against likely top-10 ranked opponent Creighton. The Bluejays' 23-12 record last season was capped by a 79-72 loss in the second round of the NCAA playoffs to eventual national champion Kansas. Tommie Women's Hoops plays its first game at Northern Iowa, a 23-11 finisher last winter and a Women's NIT qualifier in the postseason.
15. Speaking of basketball, how about that resume of St. Thomas Women's Hoops coach Ruth Sinn? Ruth is starting her 39th season in coaching -- her 18th season with the Tommies after a 16-year run as Apple Valley High head coach; plus five years in assistant and head coaching roles with Hill-Murray and Woodbury high school teams. That's approaching 1,000 games she's been on the bench guiding young women with her positive teaching ways.
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Dandy Double
1. Mariah Nguyen did something this season believed to be unprecedented in NCAA D-I women's soccer. The Tommie sophomore soccer forward scored two goals in the same game... tallied 962 hours apart over two different months... in two different states... on fields 260 miles apart on the map... wearing two different uniform colors.
Starting this season the NCAA allows a suspended game to be resumed from the point it was halted. In past seasons, such games were reset to zero for a full 90 minutes. In most cases the games simply were not rescheduled.
The Toms' season-opening Aug. 18 home game vs. UW-Green Bay was suspended by lightning in the 53rd minute and didn't resume that night. The Toms, wearing home white uniforms, were ahead 2-0 on goals contributed by Jasmine Gates and Nguyen. When the game resumed in Green Bay on Sept. 27, Nguyen, wearing her purple away No. 23 uniform, scored an insurance goal to close out a 3-0 victory.
Measured another way, the Minnesota Twins were one game behind the first-place Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central when Nguyen scored her first goal of that game. By the time she scored her second goal of the contest 40 days later, the Twins were 12 games back.
That was part of a recent five-game, 10-day span when Nguyen contributed three goals and two assists to help the Toms post three wins, a tie and a 1-0 loss. Nguyen's 12 season points (four goals, four assists) tie her for third most among all Summit League players.
Most Improved
2. Coach Sheila McGill's women's soccer team already has built a 6-3-3 record with five games remaining, surpassing the four wins posted in the 2021 inaugural D-I year. Women's Soccer is on pace to become the Tommies' most improved team from last season to this season.
The Toms have already played rematches against seven teams they lost to and one they tied in 2021. They have a 5-1-2 record against those eight in 2022. In the loss, to Marquette, they fell 2-1 after losing 3-0 last season. They've also played preseason exhibition game vs. the Minnesota Gophers: a 6-0 defeat in 2021, and a 2-0 loss this season.
Through the first 12 games last season, St. Thomas was outscored 20-9. Through the first 12 this season, they have outscored foes 17-9. With one more win or two ties, they can secure at least a .500 record for the season.
Streak on the Line
3. News flash: Glenn Caruso's Tommies win a lot of football games on campus.
The last time St. Thomas lost at O'Shaughnessy Stadium -- December 3, 2016 -- Barack Obama was president, TikTok was in its development stages in China, and Radio Shack stores were still prevalent across the nation's strip malls.
St. Thomas has won 23 consecutive on-campus home games, also 42 of its last 43. Counting regular-season games only, that number is 33 victories in a row. It also includes a 6-0 home record as an FCS program.
Among all 660-plus NCAA football teams, only Clemson has a better home record since the start of the 2017 season. The five longest current on-campus win streaks in NCAA football are Clemson (37), Cincinnati (29), St. Thomas (23), Oregon (22) and Linfield (21).
The Tommie home win streak will get its toughest test this Saturday with defending Pioneer Football League champion Davidson in town for a 1 p.m. kickoff. The Wildcats (4-1 overall, 2-0 Pioneer) have won 13 of their last 15 conference games and were the preseason pick to repeat as league champion. Davidson, which is receiving votes in the national FCS poll, leads all 660-plus NCAA teams in rushing at 389 yards a game.
At last season's meeting played in North Carolina, the Toms trailed Davidson just 21-15 early in the second half before losing by a 42-15 count. The Purple were outgained 533-236 in total yards that day, including 392 rushing yards allowed.
St. Thomas (3-1 overall, 1-0 Pioneer) can hope that this fact bears out: over the last three seasons, Davidson is 10-0 at home but just 6-7 on the road (five road defeats to scholarship teams).
Pioneer teams are 18-7 at home and 4-19 away so far in 2022. Last season, conference teams went 31-26 at home and 24-37 in away games.
Big-Time Balance
4. Here's an unusual stat: Tommie Football has scored 17 touchdowns, tallied by 13 different players. Running back Shawn Shipman has scored five, with no others having more than one. In 2021, 13 different Tommies scored the team's 35 TDs.
5. Also, the Toms have allowed just two first-half touchdowns in their 3-1 start.
6. The Toms have led in 12 of their 14 games so far in the D-I era (all except in 2021 road losses to Northern Iowa and Davidson). Over the last five seasons of the D-III era, the Purple led at some point -- or were tied in the fourth quarter -- against 59 of their last 61 opponents.
7. St. Thomas' defense has allowed foes just a 21-percent conversion rate on third downs. That's fourth best among 261 teams in Division I (FBS or FCS) behind Minnesota (19 percent), Alabama (20 percent), and Deion Sanders' Jackson State team (20 percent).
Tough Teams
8. Last weekend, St. Thomas Men's Hockey played twice against the now No. 10-ranked St. Cloud State Huskies, losing 3-1 and 4-0. This weekend, Tommie teams in soccer, football and hockey will play four more opponents that, like St. Cloud State, competed in 2021-22 NCAA tournaments:
Besides the Davidson game in football here on Saturday, are three other 2021-22 postseason teams face Tommie teams this weekend:
- Tommie Men's Soccer (2-7-1 overall, 1-0 Summit) is home Saturday for a noon test vs. Summit League power Denver (6-2-2, 2-0). The Pioneers are 17-2-4 in conference road games since 2015.
- Tommie Women's Soccer (6-3-3 overall, 2-1-1 Summit) faces South Dakota State Friday (4 p.m.). The Jackrabbits (7-0-5, 1-0-2), playing their first road game since Sept. 1, have recorded five consecutive shutouts and have outscored foes 16-5 over 12 games. SDSU is 36-4-11 over the last four seasons. Last year's 17-4-1 record included a 3-1 home win over St. Thomas.
- Tommie Women's Hockey (0-0) travels to Madison, Wis., to face the Wisconsin Badgers (3-1). Wisconsin's roster still has 11 players from its 2020-21 NCAA champion team. UW opened this season with a 4-1 loss at Penn State but rebounded to beat the Nittany Lions (9-0) and Lindenwood (combined 16-0 margin) in three subsequent victories. Last season in the Toms' debut year in D-I and the WCHA, the Badgers topped the Purple 7-1, 5-1 and 3-1, with all three played in Mendota Heights.
Revenge on the 'Rabbits
9. Men's Golf won the 14-team Big O tournament hosted by the Omaha Mavericks, beating five Summit League opponents in the 54-hole tourney that ended Tuesday. It was the Tommies' first Division I tournament victory in any sport after three second-place finishes in 2021-22.
10. Along the way, St. Thomas finished 24 strokes ahead of ninth-place South Dakota State in this tourney. This marks the first Tommie win in any sport in the D-I era against SDSU, the reigning conference all-sport champion. The Jackrabbits finished ahead of the Toms' in all 2021-22 meetings in men's and women's golf, swim-dive, track and field and cross country. They also recorded more than a dozen head-to-head wins in basketball, soccer, volleyball, baseball and softball.
In Case Someone Asks...
11. The best visitor team nickname of the school year is in play this Friday and Saturday in Mendota Heights as the Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks play St. Thomas. UAF has an eight-plus hour flight to the Twin Cities covering more than 3,000 miles and calling for four or five bags of those tiny pretzels.
12. Problems around Hurricane Ian caused the cancelation of last Saturday's Stetson at San Diego game in the Pioneer Football League. Stetson was facing a five-hour flight that would cover 2,400 miles each way. That cancelation means San Diego Football goes five consecutive weekends without a home game.
13. Tommie Women's Hockey plays its ever first games in Madison, Wis., this Friday and Saturday. All three Tommie-Badger 2021-22 meetings were played in Mendota Heights due to a mid-season Covid issue. These WCHA openers could be called the J&J Bowl as UW coach Mark Johnson squares off against Tommie coach Joel Johnson.
14. In just 33 days, both Tommie Basketball teams start regular-season play. Tommie Men's Hoops opens its 2022-23 season on the road against likely top-10 ranked opponent Creighton. The Bluejays' 23-12 record last season was capped by a 79-72 loss in the second round of the NCAA playoffs to eventual national champion Kansas. Tommie Women's Hoops plays its first game at Northern Iowa, a 23-11 finisher last winter and a Women's NIT qualifier in the postseason.
15. Speaking of basketball, how about that resume of St. Thomas Women's Hoops coach Ruth Sinn? Ruth is starting her 39th season in coaching -- her 18th season with the Tommies after a 16-year run as Apple Valley High head coach; plus five years in assistant and head coaching roles with Hill-Murray and Woodbury high school teams. That's approaching 1,000 games she's been on the bench guiding young women with her positive teaching ways.
--
Gene's Blog is a sports column penned by Tommie sports information director Gene McGivern. Gene is working his 29th season at St. Thomas and 35th overall with Twin Cities college athletics teams. He blogs periodically on various topics regarding the Tommies and college sports.
If you have comments or questions, e-mail Gene at ejmcgivern@stthomas.edu
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