MSOC | No. 20 Saint Mary's Suffers First Loss of Year to Pacific

Saturday, April 3

Stockton, CA

4:30 PM

Saint Mary's College of California

5-1-1, 3-1-1

Pacific

2-7-0, 2-4-0

Saint Mary's (CA)

Pacific

Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner

MSOC | No. 20 Saint Mary's Suffers First Loss of Year to Pacific

4/3/2021 9:38:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

STOCKTON, Calif. — No. 20 Saint Mary's incredible streak of 22 straight conference matches without a loss came to an end on Saturday as the Gaels (5-1-1, 3-1-1 WCC) fell to Pacific 3-2 on the road.

It was three early goals by the Tigers that would come back in the end to bite the Gaels. Pacific scored their first goal in the 16th minute, added another in the 24th, and then scored the eventual game-winner on a breakaway in the 26th. All three goals were scored by three different Tigers.

Despite the daunting 3-0 hole, Saint Mary's did not go down without a fight. Head coach Adam Cooper subbed in four fresh players after Pacific's third goal and the move paid dividends immediately as Younes Dayekh scored just seconds after coming onto the pitch.

Following a throw in into the box, Valentin Kurz took a shot-pass that Dayekh beautifully redirected with his right foot to get SMC on the board in the 28th.

Saint Mary's got their second goal of the match in the 60th minute when Lucas Andrews received a short pass from Miguel Bowden and fired in a close range shot to make it a one-goal deficit. The goal for Andrews was his team-leading third of the year.

The Gaels took seven shots in the final half and had ample scoring opportunities late in the match. In the final minute of play, SMC had a corner kick that led to a grade-A chance in the box and then nearly tied it again in the final seconds but Louis Sterobo's shot was saved by the Pacific keeper and the whistle sounded moments later.

Both teams took 10 shots in the match and both teams were called for 12 fouls. Pacific held a slight edge in corner kicks, 5-3.

The loss was SMC's first conference loss since Oct. 21, 2017 when they fell on the road to San Francisco, 4-2. The Gaels had been 18-0-4 against WCC opponents since that loss.

UP NEXT: LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
Saint Mary's will face the other top team in the WCC, Loyola Marymount, next Sunday at home at 1 p.m. As the last home game of the season, it will also be Senior Day for SMC's three seniors. Fans can watch the action live on the WCC Network.

#GaelsRise