Sept. 29, 2017 MORAGA, Calif. - In an exceptional second half, the Saint Mary's women's soccer team used great execution and sound defense to defeat Portland, 2-1, at Saint Mary's Stadium Friday afternoon.
The Gaels now have an overall record 5-6, and move to 1-0 in West Coast Conference action. With today's loss, the Pilots now drop to 3-7-1 on the year, and 0-1 in conference play.
Saint Mary's fought a tough battle in the first half, as freshman goalie Sonja Rajatalo made a solid save in the 35th minute. The Gaels displayed dominance in the 2nd half with shots led by freshman Kelsey Hill and senior Hannah Diaz. Hill recorded her first collegiate goal in the 63rd minute of the match, followed by a breakaway goal by Diaz in the 70th minute.
Diaz now has five goals on the season to lead the Gaels. Natalie Muth scored for the Pilots in the 84th minute mark, but the Gaels competitive defense sealed the victory.
THE GOAL
- Saint Mary's (1-0): Off a low corner kick by Kailana Kaeo, and a fake from Sophie Santos, Hill struck a pure strike from 22 yards out and into the top left corner of the net.
- Saint Mary's (2-0): Anyssa Dominguez won the ball off a strong move in the midfield, and passed the ball to Diaz for the breakaway goal.
- Portland (2-1): Taryn Ries collected the ball on the left side of the box and passed to Muth for the late goal.
THOUGHTS FROM Travis Clarke - "We played hard today. Great effort from all of our players. We executed what we trained and that was a very good sign. Both goals today were quality plays."
- "We appreciate the support today from the men's basketball team and all of Gael Force. Their energy and coverage really helped our team's energy."
QUICK NOTES - The Gaels outshot the Pilots, 8-7 for the match.
- Diaz now has 22 goals in her career, tied-5th most in program history.
- First time since 1988-89, Saint Mary's has defeated UP two consecutive times.
- First home win versus the Pilots since 1989. Kelsey Hill, Valerie LaForge, Jessica Ko, Jasmine Edwards, Anna Parker, and Heather Seybert logged 90 minutes in the win.
- Rajatalo now moves to 2-2 on the season and recorded four saves today.
UP NEXT: THE ZAGS - Saint Mary's will continue at home against rival Gonzaga on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 3:30 pm at Saint Mary's stadium.
- Live stream can be found HERE.
- Live stats can be found HERE.
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