SPOKANE, Wash. – It was a Friday night to forget in Spokane as the Saint Mary's Women's Soccer team suffered a 2-0 defeat to Gonzaga. 
 
The Zags defense proved unbreakable for the Gaels, as they suffered their second consecutive defeat. 
 
EARLY OPPORTUNITIES 
The Gaels jumped out of the gates early, pressuring the Zags from the opening whistle. Tessa Salvestrin had a decent shot on target inside three minutes, but was unable to trouble the Gonzaga goalkeeper. 
 
Saint Mary's were able to earn two early corners, as multiple shots from Marissa Garcia and Isabella Santavicca were blocked by the Zags defense.
 
Emma Barthel had the best chance of the half for the Gaels, as she headed a pass off the crossbar in the 6^th minute. 
 
Gonzaga countered quickly, racing down the field towards Taylor Poland's net. But before the Zags forward could get a close range shot off, Marissa Garcia came charging in from behind, executing a fantastic slide tackle to halt the Gonzaga attack. 
 
After a frenetic opening ten minutes, both teams began to settle into the match, as Gonzaga began to slowly control more of the possession. 
 
Taylor Poland was forced into action for the first time in the 21^st minute, making a relatively comfortable catch inside the six yard box. Gonzaga continued to bring the heat, and Poland was called upon once again, making a stellar one-on-one save to keep Saint Mary's in the game. 
 
She made one more fantastic save just two minutes later, a fingertip stretching effort that surely should've given Gonzaga the lead. 
 
Saint Mary's defended well, but as the half wore on, the Zags began to slowly wear down the Gaels defense. After a flurry of opportunities in the 25^th minute, the Gaels tried to turn defense into offense, as Isabella Santavicca make a confident run forward, before slicing her right footed shot wide of the post. 
 
STEALING THE LEAD
Despite hanging tough in defense, the Zags managed to grab the lead just minutes before the end of the first half. 
 
Seemingly out of nowhere, a Gonzaga forward received a through ball at the top of the box, before she squared her hips, and calmly passed the ball past Taylor Poland and into the back right corner of the net to give Gonzaga the 1-0 lead in the 39^th minute. 
 
The Zags thought they had a second goal in the 43^rd minute as well, as they finished off a clinical counter-attack move that was ultimately called offsides. 
 
TIME TO TIE
The second half proved to be a tricky contest for the Gaels, as the Zags continued to dominate possession and dictate play. 
 
Saint Mary's struggled to create offensive opportunities, but they continued to press the Gonzaga defense, slowly upping their tempo. They had a great opportunity to level via a set piece in the 64^th minute, but Salvestrin was unable to control Santavicca's cross as it glanced off her arm for a handball. 
 
Another chance for the Gaels came in the 72^nd minute via a corner, but they were unable to register a shot against the stout Gonzaga defense. 
 
The Gaels turned on the pressure for the final ten minutes of the game, as Brynn Mitchell had a right footed shot slice off target in the 79^th minute. 
 
FINISHING MOVE
Gonzaga nearly added a second goal as a ball bounced around in the six-yard box after a corner kick in the 85^th minute. 
 
Their second goal did eventually come, as the Zags forwarded charged down the line before cutting in towards Taylor Poland's goal. She then placed a perfect right footed shot past Taylor Poland and into the side netting to make it 2-0 Gonzaga in the 88th minute.

Despite creating a handful of opportunities in the opening minutes, the Gaels were unable to trouble the Gonzaga defense, as they were unable to manage a shot on target, despite taking nine total shots.

 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's take on Pepperdine on Wednesday November 2 at 3:30 pm for their final home game of the season.