MORAGA, Calif. — The Gaels offense came to play in the season opener on Thursday afternoon, lighting up the scoreboard to the tune of three goals in a 3-0 win over Sacramento State. Going back to the ending of the 2021 spring season, the Gaels have now scored three goals in consecutive wins, and begin the 2021 fall season with a mark of 1-0.
 
BLAST OFF!
The season began in a great way for SMC, with a goal just 18:10 into the season. Malia Allison made the transition to defender to begin the season, but she got involved right away with the team's first goal on a laser of a shot. From the top-right corner of the box, she was able to get enough space and create a cushion and a wide-open lane, and the blasted one off her right foot. It beat the Sacramento State keeper just below the crossbar and gave Saint Mary's the 1-0 lead.
 
RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME
While Allison's goal was unassisted after she did it all by herself, the Gaels had some more teamwork in the second goal of the game. In the 51^st minute, Emily Jensen sent a cross in deep towards the box that was deflected by Sacramento State, and that allowed Kyllie Glock to step up and bury it into the back of the next with a clear path. Glock's goal gave Saint Mary's a 2-0 lead at 50:38 and was the third of her Saint Mary's career.
 
WE GOT A FIRST
The Gaels did not need more than two goals on Thursday, but they got one more for good measure. With a couple of substitutions on the field, Hailey Prentice and Alexis Gutierrez got involved in the scoring. Prentice had a diagonal pass from near midfield to an open Gutierrez, who made a couple of quick cuts and suddenly found an open look similar to that of Allison's in the first half. In the 81^st minute, Gutierrez fired one from long-range and sniped it into the top right corner of the box, giving her the first goal of her collegiate career and capping off the game with a 3-0 score.
 
IN CONTROL
Saint Mary's was in control from the very first horn, and it showed on the stat sheet as well. The Gaels outshot the Hornets 20-4, including 15-2 on goal. SMC also had a lot of opportunities on corner kicks as well, with a 7-2 advantage. Taylor Poland only needed to make two saves for the clean sheet, her first of the 2021 fall season. Newcomer Suzuna Shibukawa led the Gaels with five shots, including four on frame.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's has its first road match of the season on Sunday afternoon as they head down to San Luis Obispo to take on Cal Poly at 12:00 pm. The Mustangs began their season late on Thursday with a match against #24 Stanford and went 6-10-3 in their last season of competition (fall of 2019).
 
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