NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College women's soccer team lost its game against Saint Mary's 7-2 on Monday.

The Knights jumped to a quick start with the help of a perfect shot from Martha Balge from just inside the box, kicking it over the head of the keeper into the far right corner to put MLC ahead 1-0 in the sixth minute.

Jenna Maurer added to the lead for MLC in the 19th minute after weaving her way around SMU defenders on the way to her first goal of the season to push the MLC lead to 2-0. The goal was the 37th of Maurer's career, moving her into fourth place alone in the program's all-time scoring list.

The Cardinals would begin to take control from there, scoring their first goal just 40 seconds after the Maurer tally to cut the deficit to 2-1, and then adding two more goals in the final six minutes of the first half to take a 3-2 lead into the break.

In the second half, SMU was able to take advantage of an MLC defense that was without several key players. The Cardinals scored once in the 53rd minute to push the lead to 4-3, and then added three more goals the rest of the way to finish with the 7-2 final.

MLC finished the game with 15 total shots, nine of which were on net. Maurer led MLC with five total shots and two shots on goal. Hailey Johnson took three shots, and created several strong chances early in the first half.

The Knights fell to 0-2 on the season in defeat, while SMU improved its record to 1-1.

MLC will return to action on Wednesday, September 7, when they host Dordt College for a game scheduled to start at 5 p.m.