MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's Women's Soccer will travel to San Francisco this weekend as they'll battle the Dons for their final matchup of the season.
 
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels (5-5-7) at University of San Francisco Dons (7-5-6)
Saturday, November 5 at 7:00 pm
Negoesco Stadium – San Francisco, Calif. 
Watch Live | Live Stats
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Gaels took on Pepperdine midweek, which saw Taylor Poland save the day in a tense, 0-0 match.
 
Pepperdine came out of the gates hot, playing direct, fast paced soccer. They nearly caught the Gaels off-guard in the fourth minute of the game, as they connected on a through ball leading to a one-on one with Taylor Poland. 
 
Despite a few chances to open the scoring for the Gaels, the star of the half was Taylor Poland, who made fantastic save after fantastic save. Her first came in the 17^th minute, as she fully extended to her right to keep the Waves out of the net. 
 
The second half got off to a tamer start compared to the first half, as both teams were unable to link passes together during the opening 15 minutes of the half. That didn't stop the Waves from testing Taylor Poland, as she made two more saves in the 52^nd minute. 
 
The best chance of the game for the Gaels came in the 83^rd minute, as Alessandra Towle charged through the midfield and towards the Waves penalty area. She unloaded a right footed shot from 25 yards out, smashing the crossbar with her shot. 
 
Pepperdine sensed blood after Towle's unlucky miss, as they flew down the field to search for the winner. Their opportunity came in the 87^th minute, as the referee awarded the Waves a penalty after Jessie Hawes committed a foul on the Pepperdine attacker.
 
After making save after save throughout the game, it was only fitting for Taylor Poland to make one more otherworldly save to clinch the tie for the Gaels. 
 
The Waves attacker had a short run up, and smashed a low shot toward Poland's right corner of the goal. Poland read her like a book, springing to her left, palming the ball clear of her post and sending the Gaels fans in attendance into an absolute frenzy. 
 
ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO
The Dons are coming off a huge 1-0 win against the University of Portland on Wednesday night. San Francisco's win against Portland moved them to 7-5-6 on the season overall, and 2-3-3 in the WCC. Saint Mary's will aim to repeat their result from last season, as they bested the Dons 2-0 in Moraga. The Gaels are 8-9-1 all-time against the Dons, winning the past two meetings against San Francisco.