MSOC | No. 9 Gaels Take on No. 16 Toreros in Highly Anticipated Match

Saint Mary's will face their toughest opponent thus far as they host San Diego on Sunday.

MORAGA, Calif. — No. 9 Saint Mary's continues conference play this week as they host No. 16 San Diego for a Sunday matchup.

Links and more information can be found on the team's schedule page.

The Gaels have posted a 10-1 record so far this season and are coming off of a 2-1 victory over Santa Clara in their first WCC match of the year. Joseph Restani and Anders Engebretsen tallied the two goals for SMC last Saturday as they continue to lead the team in points. Engebretsen (10) and Restani (8) are first and second in the conference in total goals, respectively, as well as sixth and 20th in the nation. Valentin Sponer recorded his first assist on Saturday following a corner from Filippo Zattarin that resulted in the eventual goal by Restani.

Remi Prieur has also been pivotal for the Gaels this season in goal including his performance on Saturday. Prieur recorded a total of six saves on 11 SCU shot attempts and the only goal scored by the Broncos was on a ball that deflected off a crowd in front of Prieur and redirected up high, just out of reach.

Saint Mary's moved to ninth place in the rankings this week and have not been ranked lower than tenth since early September.

ABOUT NO. 16 SAN DIEGO
No. 16 San Diego hits the road this week with a record of 9-1-1 and will face UCLA on Thursday prior to their match against the Gaels. The Toreros have won their last two matches and are most recently coming off of a 4-0 shutout of San Francisco in their first conference match of the season. San Diego has recorded seven total shutouts of their opponents this year.

Miguel Berry is neck-and-neck with SMC's Engebretsen this season as he has a total of 10 goals, tying the two players for top in the conference. Berry also has six assists on the season which is just one shy of Engebretsen. Berry's other stats include having 26 points (2nd in WCC), 45 shots (1st in WCC) and four game-winning goals under his belt. Freddy Polzer and Jimmy Ryan are tied for second on the team in total goals with three apiece.

San Diego holds the all-time record against Saint Mary's at 29-10-8 but the last two times the teams have met, the result has been a tie. The Gaels and the Toreros ended their matchup in 2018 locked at 1-1, and tied at 2-2 in 2017.

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