MORAGA, Calif. – Saint Mary's Men's Soccer opened the 2023 season with a convincing 5-1 over Detroit Mercy on Thursday night in Saint Mary's Stadium.
 
The Gaels initially played a possession game as they tried to get a read on an opponent they hadn't played since 2018, but after a slow start SMC cranked up the attack in the 27th minute.
 
Saint Mary's first goal was set up by Cade Cowan who fed a pass to Riley Lynch, about 10 feet outside the top of the box. Lynch fired a shot towards the right post and it caromed off the woodwork into the net for the Gaels first goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.
 
It looked like SMC was about to go up 2-0 on a penalty kick, after Tyler Hardin was shouldered from behind inside the box. But after an initial fake got the goalie out of position, Louis Sterobo would hit the crossbar which kept it a one-goal game.
 
Lynch would strike again however in the 36th minute. This time it was a long, downfield pass from freshman George Herbert that left Lynch all alone behind the Titans defense. Lynch would put a hesitation move on the keeper to get past him, and chip in his second goal of the match for a 2-0 Saint Mary's lead.
 
Less than two minutes later the Gaels would make it a 3-0 game on redshirt freshman Nick Strangio's first collegiate goal. Sophomore Maxwell Farnum set up Strangio just inside the left corner of the penalty area, and Strangio booted it home into the top right corner of the net in the 38th minute.
 
Saint Mary's would come out of the gate in the second half continuing put on the pressure. The In the 56th minute, Timothy Stephens blasted a kick deep downfield to Lynch, who then fed a cross to Hardin inside the box. Hardin played the ball out of the air and whipped a beautiful, right-footed shot into the net up high above the keeper for a 4-0 lead.
 
A tic-tac-toe goal put Saint Mary's up 5-0 just two minutes later on a corner piece that was started by Storm Schmidt Hollensted from the near corner. Louis Sterobo fought the sun to get his head on it and directed towards the middle. From there it was headed home by Cowan for his first goal of the season in the 58th minute.
 
The Gaels would surrender a late goal to the Titans in the 76th minute as they didn't quite keep their intensity to same level they had in the first 75 minutes. Nonetheless it would still be far too much of a deficit for Detroit Mercy to overcome as the Gaels would preserve the 5-1 victory.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
It was the first time the Gaels scored five goals in a game since a 5-1 win over Portland in 2019, when they scored five goals three times that season on their way to the NCAA Tournament.
 
It was the first brace of Lynch's career and first five-point game. The four-point game for Cowan was also a first in his career.
 
UP NEXT:
The Gaels remain at home to take on Utah Tech at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 27.