MORAGA, Calif. — No. 11 Saint Mary's will look to host a pair of matches this week to kick off their regular season. The Gaels will take on No. 25 UC Irvine on Friday at 4 p.m. and then will face off against Omaha on Monday at noon. 

Tickets for the match can be purchased by clicking here or at the stadium entrance up to one hour prior to kickoff. Links to live stats can also be found on the team's schedule page. 

After falling to No. 5 Stanford last week in their first of two exhibition matches, SMC had a quick turnaround as they easily defeated Notre Dame de Namur in a 2-0 decision. During the matchup, Lucas Andrews and Filippo Zattarin provided the two goals for the Gaels to secure the victory. In net, Nicholas Lapinid recorded the lone save of the contest for Saint Mary's. 

ABOUT UC IRVINE
No. 25 UC Irvine has played well in the preseason as they defeated San Diego State and Marymount California at home last week during exhibitions. The Anteaters totaled 49 shots over both games with 36 of those on frame.

Midfielder Roberto Molina led UCI's efforts as he scored two of the Anteaters' seven total goals. Molina also led UC Irvine with five total shots which all came in the matchup against San Diego State.

Saint Mary's holds a 6-3-1 all-time record over the 'Eaters with their last meetup coming in 2018 where SMC defeated UCI 1-0 at home. Following their match against the Gaels, the Anteaters will remain in the Bay Area to take on Cal on Sunday.  

ABOUT OMAHA
Omaha played just exhibition match prior to the season, a 1-0 loss at home versus UCLA. In the match, the Mavericks posted seven shots, three of which came from forward Diego Gutierrez. In the net, Ugo Tritz and Jeremy Pollard each tallied two saves per half. 

Omaha will look to build off a 2018 campaign that saw them finish with a 7-8-1 overall record but a 4-1 mark in conference play. The Mavericks were 3-3 on the road last year. 

Prior to taking on Saint Mary's, Omaha will face off against Cal on Friday. The contest between the Gaels and the Mavericks will be the first meeting between the two teams in program history.