MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's Men's Soccer has returned to campus and training camp is under way, with the regular season slated to kick off on August 24.
 
The Gaels finished the 2022 season 7-6-5 overall and 2-1-4 in WCC play, good for a third-place finish in the conference. Head Coach, Adam Cooper, returns for his 18th season at the helm of Saint Mary's Men's Soccer. The most successful coach in program history has led his teams to a finish among the top half in the league standings in 12-straight seasons and in 14 of the past 15 years.
 
The 2023 squad will aim to turn some of those five draws overall -- and four in conference play -- into wins this season. They return five of the seven players that received WCC honors in 2022, including first-teamer Louis Sterobo, while brining an influx of new talent.
 
PREPPING FOR 2023
The Gaels began fall practice last week, but SMC's roster began prepping for the upcoming season long before that, with two of last year's top newcomers staying ready for action all summer.
 
"This year I actually played in a summer league up in Oregon for Lane United," said last year's top goal scorer, Wade Muttitt. "It was a great experience getting to meet a lot of different players from around the country, and I was the top goal scorer there, so hopefully I can carry that into the season and get some goals here as well."
 
"I actually worked way more than I used to," commented Bastian Toelhoej,  "Usually I'll have two or three weeks without soccer, so having more than two months off is a little new for me. Did a lot of running, was in the gym a lot, and played on a team back home, so I kept in shape all summer."
 
2023 RETURNERS
As a junior captain, Sterobo, played 17 games for the Gaels last season with 16 starts. He scored his first career goal at UC Irvine in 2022, but his calling card has been as a defensive stalwart for SMC.
 
The Odense, Denmark native was third on the team in minutes, and has racked up over 3,500 minutes in his career, while being part of 13 shutouts over the past two seasons. It was his second set of All-WCC honors after making the second team in 2021.
 
Muttitt earned Second Team All-WCC Midfielder in his first year as a Gael, when he burst onto the scene after transferring from Feather River College. He led the team in goals (5) and points (10) on the season, and had a two-goal game against Pacific in a 3-1 win. The Crowthorne, England native was known for his quick strikes, scoring his first goal in Stockton, Calif. in 24 seconds and his goal against LMU in the third minute.
 
The Gaels also had Toelhoej and Luke Lawrence make the All-WCC Freshman Team, and Riley Lynch each received All-WCC Honorable Mention.
 
Toelhoej came to the Gaels from Copenhagen, Denmark and was fifth on the team in goals (2) and points (6). He started all 17 games for Saint Mary's and played the full 90 minutes in 13 matches, finishing second on the team in minutes with 1,460.
 
Lawrence became a bigger piece of the SMC defense as the season went on, playing in the Gaels final nine games of the season, starting eight of them. He played the full 90 minutes in the Gaels last four games, showing his quickness and physicality.
 
It was the second time receiving All-WCC honors for Lynch, as he was All-WCC Second Team last year and made the All-Freshman squad. The Chandler, Ariz. native was first on the team in assists (5) and shots (39), and second in points (9).
 
2023 NEWCOMERS
Coach Cooper has brought in a very talented recruiting class that he expects to contribute right away. The new additions have given the Gaels depth and competition at every position on the field, and Cooper has high expectations of this group to produce immediately.
 
The newcomers include Utah's "Best Goalkeeper of the Year" in 2022 and '23, an NAIA All-American in 2022, a two-time Marmonte league All-Offensive Team member and MVP, a 2023 West Region MVP of the Toronto District Catholic Athletic Association, and a 2023 Metro League Mountain Division First Team member among the accolades of the new Gaels.
 
2023 NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
The Gaels will get to play five-straight regular-season games in the friendly confines of Saint Mary's Stadium to open the season, seven if you include two exhibitions before the regular season begins.
 
They'll finish their non-conference schedule -- and a stretch of four-straight road games -- by taking on the Stanford Cardinal down on The Farm on September 23 at 7:00 p.m. There is one non-conference game mixed in with the conference slate when they go east to Miami to take on Florida International on October 14.
 
GUNNING FOR THE WCC TITLE
Last season San Diego claimed the WCC Championship, going 6-0-1 in conference play. Their lone tie was to the Gaels, and they got it by sneaking in a last-minute goal against SMC in San Diego.
 
Portland finished second in the conference, and barely topped the Gaels by a score of 2-1 in their 2022 meeting, with the Pilots being ranked No. 7 in the country at the time. Portland would defeat UC Riverside, No. 8 Oregon State, and Western Michigan in the NCAA Tournament, before a 1-0, double-overtime loss to Pitt in the Elite 8.
 
That run towards the top spot in the WCC for the Gaels will start on September 30 when they host Santa Clara, who SMC tied last year 1-1. That's followed by a home match against 2022 WCC Champion, San Diego, on October 7. The Gaels will play under the lights in Spokane to take on the Zags on October 21 at 6:00 p.m. before coming back home to host Pacific on October 25.
 
Those two games begin a pattern of alternating home and road games, with SMC playing at San Francisco on October 28, hosting Portland on November 4, and finishing the season at rival LMU on November 11. The Gaels finished just ahead of the Lions in the final WCC standings, and always plays a spirited match against their rivals from Los Angeles.
 
Click here to get tickets for the 2023 Saint Mary's Men's Soccer season.
 
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