MSOC | Hornets Take Down Gaels 4-1 - SMC California Athletics

Thursday, September 1

Moraga, CA

4:00 p.m.

Saint Mary's College of California

Sacramento State

Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner

MSOC | Hornets Take Down Gaels 4-1

9/1/2022 7:53:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

MORAGA, Calif. – The Gaels didn't have their best defensive outing on Thursday afternoon against Sacramento State, as the Hornets won 4-1 at Saint Mary's Stadium.

SMC came out crisp offensively early in the game, with quick touch passes that got them down field and established some rhythm offensively. But Sac State would go on to control the possession time in the first half after the early fluid offense from the Gaels.

The Hornets had the ball in the Gaels end of the field for long stretches in the first half, and threatened to score in the 18th minute. Sac State would have scored right then if it weren't for a dazzling point-blank save by goalkeeper Kash Oladapo.

Oladapo would have three big saves in the game to keep the Gaels in it through the first 70 minutes before Sac State tacked on a fourth goal. Saint Mary's just struggled to mark their man, keep Sac State in front of them, or get to the 50-50 balls in their end of the field.

It was a loose ball that put the Hornets up 1-0 in the 21st minute. Oladapo and the Gaels defense couldn't corral a loose ball after a corner kick, with set piece again causing trouble for SMC. The Hornets got on the loose ball and caught Oladapo out of the net as they slammed it home from eight yards out.

They jumped out to a 2-0 lead just over a minute into the second half. The Hornets got downfield in big chunks using two long passes and one more from the left side of the box that put the ball right in front of the goal. The Sacramento State forward shielded of the Gaels defender and turned and fired to put it in the back of the net.

Sac State would go up 3-0 in the 69th minute when a pass from about five yards to the left of the box drove a pass to the front of the net when they headed it into the net.

Saint Mary's would get on the board on a well-executed corner piece of their own. The initial kick from Noah Bohane was headed towards goal mouth by Gael Quintero, and Christian Engmann turned and buried it into the net with his right foot to make it a 3-1 game in the 70th minute.

The Hornets went up 4-1 in the 83rd minute when they went short off a corner piece and lofted a shot from a few yards left of the front of the penalty area that went off the crossbar and in.

UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will host UC Davis at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon as part of a soccer double header with the Women's Team taking on Texax Tech at 11 a.m.