MSOC | Gaels Draw At Defending National Champions
8/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
STANFORD, Calif. -- For the second straight match, the Saint Mary's men's soccer team went toe-to-toe on the road against a top-25 program. And, for the second time in a row the Gaels came away with a draw.
After taking a 2-goal advantage into halftime and having several second half and overtime opportunities to come away with victory, the Gaels (0-0-2) settled for a 2-2 tie at defending national champion and No. 1 ranked Stanford on Sunday.
The Cardinal (0-0-2) earned a 9-4 advantage in shots on target and forced 10 more corners than Saint Mary's. But, the Gaels maintained their composure down the stretch and benefited from another strong performance from junior goalkeeper Andrew Konstantino. The Hercules native posted seven saves to remain undefeated to open the season.
"There are definitely some positives from today's match," said SMC head coach Adam Cooper. "For the second straight match, we played well and could have easily come away with a win. Our relatively young team has now earned a pair of draws against top 25 Pac-12 programs. Today was a tough game. It was physical, emotional at times and was another learning opportunity for our team
"However, in both matches, we gave up leads. We will need to work on closing out matches and developing the maturity to come away with points when we are ahead. Some of that is to be expected with a young team, but that is the area we are going to need to improve."
After playing to a scoreless draw in its opener against Penn State on Friday, Stanford opened the game on the front foot looking to get on the scoreboard early. Konstantino and the SMC defense held firm and weathered the early storm.
"I thought Tino had a fantastic game," said Cooper. "Alex Braman had a great game, as did Jake Rudel. Jake is a true freshman and put in very good performances against Cal and Stanford, both of which have some of the best offensive players in college soccer."
In the 42rd minute, SMC freshman Jakub Svehlik drew a foul to give the Gaels a free kick from 35 yards out. Stephen Dougherty lofted the kick into the penalty area and junior Max Mirner rose high into the air to head the ball past Stanford goalkeeper Andrew Epstein for the first score of the match.
Mirner's goal marked the first score given up in the run of play by the Cardinal in 477 minutes, dating back to last season.
"I think the guys came out firing from minute one," said Mirner. "My goal gave us a lot of confidence and energy going into halftime. Steve put a great ball into the box. I found some space, got my head on it and was able to finish. It was an important goal for our team."
With renewed energy coming out of halftime, the Gaels pushed forward right out of the kickoff. Just :34 seconds into the half, Svehlik crossed a ball into the penalty area that was blocked out by a Cardinal defender. At the top of the 18 yard box, Dougherty blasted a low one-time shot that evaded Epstein and handed SMC a 2-0 lead.
"I think we really had to grind out there today," said Dougherty. "We both knew we were in for a battle. On my assist, Max wanted it more than their backs. On my goal, we were able to get numbers up and, luckily, the ball landed at my feet and I put it in."
In the 77th minute, Stanford's Tomas Hilliard-Arce was called for a flagrant foul and issued a red card. The Cardinal played the final 13 minutes of regulation and the 20 minutes of overtime with 10 men.
Just one minute after Hillard-Arce's disqualification, the Cardinal grabbed their first goal of the match when Foster Langsdorf slipped past the SMC defense on a crafty set piece and pushed a shot inside the far post.
Just fewer than three minutes later, the Cardinal equalized when Drew Skundrich headed in a whipped-in cross from teammate Tanner Beason.
"It meant a lot to our team to play well this weekend against two good programs," said Mirner. "Today, against the number one team in the nation with several national team players, we showed we can play with anyone. We have the confidence and the players that have the ability to compete."
The Gaels open their 8-match home schedule on Thursday (Sept. 1) against the University of Washington in a 4:30 p.m. start in Saint Mary's Stadium. The last time the two teams met, in Seattle early in the 2014 season, SMC came away with a 2-1 overtime victory over the then No. 4 nationally ranked Huskies.
Season, single match and specially priced group and team ticket packages are available by clicking here or by calling the SMC Athletic Ticket Office at (925) 631-GoTx (4689) during weekday business hours.
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