FRESNO, Calif. — 110 minutes was not enough to split the teams on Sunday afternoon as Saint Mary's were held to a goalless draw at Fresno State. It is the second draw for the Gaels this season as they remain unbeaten after six games. 

POLAND ON POINT
It was a busy afternoon for Taylor Poland between the sticks for the Gaels, with the keeper denying the Bulldogs on six occasions. Fresno tested the Saint Mary's goal with 12 shots spanning over the 110 minutes. That tied for the most shots from an opposition this season, matching Cal in the last away game, however, this time the Gaels held out for a clean sheet. The saves came at crucial periods of the game, with Poland stretching low to the bottom left of the net to keep out Sam Tristan's shot two minutes ahead of half time before making a save from a similar position two minutes in to the second half. 
In the 90th minute, the shot stopper collected an effort by Bailee Kern which allowed Alexis Gutierrez to head down the other end to try and win the game in the last five seconds. She struck towards the bottom corner, but Ella Wilson's save sent the game into overtime. Poland made late saves in both periods of overtime as Saint Mary's earned their second consecutive clean sheet and third of the season. 

GAELS GOING FOR GOAL
Saint Mary's have proved to be a fierce attacking side to start the 2021 season and a side not afraid to take their chance on goal. In their trip to Fresno, they took aim 14 times, with five of those heading towards the goal as they faced three different Bulldogs keepers. Brooke Christie was the first to find the target for the Gaels as she looked to convert from a Saint Mary's corner in the 21st minute. Valentina Vivas made the low save in the middle of the goal before being replaced by Wilson two minutes later. It was an afternoon for the goalies, as Wilson was equally on point as Poland, making four saves. 

CHASING THE WIN
The Gaels pushed hard to steal the game in the closing stages of the second half. Kimaya Cole was denied by Wilson before the referee blew for a Saint Mary's penalty with five minutes left to play when Kern's foul in the area earned her a yellow card. Suzuna Shibukawa has come to the rescue with late goals to earn victories against Cal Poly and the previous game against UC Riverside this season. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case when she stepped up to the penalty spot in the 85th minute in Fresno. She struck towards the bottom right corner, but it was read well by the opposition keeper to prevent the late winner. 

UP NEXT
It's another busy week for the Gaels next week with two more games on the schedule. The home, away sequence continues as Saint Mary's return home to host CSU Bakersfield on Friday 4:00 pm at Saint Mary's Stadium, before a trip to Riverside to face California Baptist next Sunday at 1:00 pm. 

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