MORAGA, Calif. — After beating Sonoma State in their lone exhibition of the season, Saint Mary's Men's Soccer officially begins the 2021 regular season at home on Thursday and will continue to remain at home for the first four matches of the year. The Gaels welcome in Cal on Thursday afternoon for the home opener, followed by Cal Poly on Monday afternoon.
THE DETAILS
California Golden Bears at Saint Mary's Gaels
Thursday, August 26 at 1:00 pm
Saint Mary's Stadium – Moraga, Calif.
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Cal Poly Mustangs at Saint Mary's Gaels
Monday, August 30 at 4:00 pm
Saint Mary's Stadium – Moraga, Calif.
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LAST SEASON
Saint Mary's entered the season as the two-time defending WCC Champions, but also had the challenge of defending that title with 14 freshmen on the roster. A young Gaels team began the year with four-straight shutouts and began with a 5-0-1 record, putting themselves in great position to keep their crown. It ultimately came down to their home finale against #10 Loyola Marymount, where the Lions won 3-1 at claimed the championship in Moraga. The Gaels would finish 6-2-1 overall on the year, with a 4-2-1 record in conference play.
Saint Mary's brings back so much talent from last year's team, and will get helped by the return of
James Person, who sat out last year due to injury. The top-eight scorers on last year's team will return, including the team's leading scorer in
Andrew Rotter, who led the Gaels with four goals and 10 points. In net,
Nicholas Lapinid and
Kash Oladapo will figure to both see time over the course of the year. Lapinid is in his fifth season and played well last year, while Oladapo did not allow a goal during his first season in Moraga.
ABOUT CAL
The Golden Bears will play their first game of the season against Saint Mary's, after three exhibitions opened their 2021 fall campaign. Most recently, Cal tied against San Francisco on Friday at Edwards Stadium. Cal scored twice in a two-minute span in the second half to take a 2-1 lead, one that was ultimately tied by USF's Nonso Adimabua. They return four All-Pac-12 honorees, including Alonzo Del Mundo, who was on the United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region team. Last spring, they played 10 matches in Pac-12 action, and went 4-5-1, but went 8-7-3 in their last full season, which came in 2019.
ABOUT CAL POLY
The Mustangs are back in action after pausing for the entirety of the 2020 season due to COVID-19. In their most recent season, which came in 2019, the Mustangs went 7-9-1 and 3-4 in Big West action, ultimately losing to CSU Fullerton in the first round of the Big West Tournament. Six of the team's starters from that 2019 season return, including 53% of the offensive production. They will be led by Manny Perez on offense, as the senior forward scored nine goals during the 2019 season, including goals in five-straight games in the middle of the year. Four of those goals counted as game-winners. They began their season with exhibitions against UCLA and Fresno Pacific, and will have their first countable match on Friday at Santa Clara.
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