MORAGA, Calif. — The Gaels went out with a bang in their non-conference schedule with a 3-0 win over Nevada at the Saint Mary's Stadium. A dominating performance saw the Gaels bounce back from their first defeat of the season earlier in the week when AnnaMarie DiGeronimo broke the deadlock after two minutes, Suzuna Shibukawa struck her sixth of the season and Carly Hittenmiller topped it off with her first of the campaign.

Saint Mary's flew out of the blocks against the Wolfpack and grabbed the lead after just two minutes. Suzuna Shibukawa flicked on a loose ball deep in Nevada's half with her head for DiGeronimo to run on to. She took the ball all the way to the by-line, rounded the keeper and coolly tucked her effort into the far corner from a tight angle. 
With the Gaels in firmly in control, they dominated possession and left Nevada with little time on the ball. Freshman goalkeeper Cambria Kingman was called into action in her first collegiate start, after Taylor Poland picked up a knock in the previous game, making a comfortable save from Gabby Brown. 

It didn't take long for the dominance to turn into another goal and once again it was Shibukawa striking hot after a great team effort in the 25th minute. The Gaels quickly won the ball back from a Nevada free kick before Alexis Gutierrez lofted a perfectly weighted ball over the top for Shibukawa to slot in. The 2-0 lead was almost immediately extended just two minutes later, and it was Shibukawa looking a threat again. Malia Allison played a freekick into the goalmouth and Shibukawa headed towards goal from two yards out, drawing a brilliant instinctive save from the visiting keeper. 

The third goal came and it was an instant impact by Carly Hittenmiller less than ten minutes after she entered the game for her first minutes of the season. She picked up a through ball on the edge of the area and drove in from the left side. After waltzing past her marker, she struck a low effort that tucked into the far corner. 

The second half didn't possess the same dramatics as the first, but the Gaels came close to more goals after applying the pressure on the Wolfpack defense. Two shots came within ten seconds of each other as Emma Barthel struck from the right across goal, sending the substitute keeper Kendal Stoval to the left, before a strike from Alexis Gutierrez from her save sent her diving in the other direction to pull of another good save. Down the other end, Kingman made a couple of good saves late on to keep a clean sheet in her debut.

UP NEXT
It's West Coast Conference time up next, and the Gaels will open their conference campaign at Saint Mary's Stadium against University of San Francisco on Saturday October at 4pm. 

#GaelsRise — Single game tickets are on sale through the month of September! To select your game and your tickets, click HERE!
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