MORAGA, Calif. — The 2021 fall season is officially underway for Saint Mary's Women's Soccer, with their first two countable games of the season on the horizon. The Gaels open up the regular season with their home opener on Thursday against Sacramento State at 4:00 before their first road match of the year on Sunday at noon against Cal Poly.
 
THE DETAILS
Sacramento State Hornets at Saint Mary's Gaels
Thursday, August 19 at 4:00 pm
Saint Mary's Stadium – Moraga, Calif.
Watch Live | Live Stats | Get Tickets
 
Saint Mary's Gaels at Cal Poly Mustangs
Sunday, August 22 at 12:00 pm
Alex G. Spanos Stadium – San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Live Audio | Live Stats
 
LAST SEASON
Saint Mary's improved across the board during the shortened 2020 soccer season, which was played in the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under first year head coach Theresa Romagnolo, the Gaels went 4-4-3 with a 4-3-2 record in conference play. Their overall mark was the best record put up by the program since 2011, and their conference record was the team's best since the 2003 season.
 
Taylor Poland took home WCC Goalkeeper of the Year honors for the Gaels, a significant honor for the then-freshman out of Laguna Hills. With the addition of Maya Alcantara on the All-WCC Second Team, and AnnaMaria DiGeronimo and Emily Jensen earning honorable mention nods, the Gaels had a total of four earn postseason honors. This marked the first time the Gaels have had two players earn at least second team honors since the 2010 campaign.
 
ABOUT SACRAMENTO STATE
Overtime told the story of the Hornets 2020 season. Fans who thought the Gaels playing their first three matches into double overtime was a lot will be shocked to hear that Sacramento State saw its first five matches of the year go into double overtime, with four of those ending in draws. This helped their record sit at 3-4-4 on the season, including their 2-1 double overtime win over Saint Mary's in their home opener on February 11. Playing an abbreviated conference schedule, the Hornets won just two conference games, their last two, against Portland State. Similar to SMC, scoring was not their strong suit, scoring just eight goals in 11 games but only allowing 12.
 
ABOUT CAL POLY
Like Saint Mary's, Cal Poly will have their first two official matches of the season this week, opening up the season with #24 Stanford coming to SLO on Thursday. This year marks a return to the pitch for the Mustangs, who did not play at all during the 2020 season thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. In their most recent season of competition (2019), the Mustangs went just 6-10-3 but were 3-3-2 in Big West games. Camille Lafaix figures to be one of the top returners on their roster, as she was named to the Preseason All-Big West team one week ago. She is one of nine letterwinners returning from that 2019 team that last saw competition.
 
#GaelsRise — Single game tickets are on sale through the month of September! To select your game and your tickets, click HERE!