BERKELEY, Calif. — In their final non-conference tilt of the season, the Saint Mary's Gaels (1-7-5) could not prevail on the road against the Cal Golden Bears (5-6-2), falling 4-2. The Gaels fell behind 1-0 late in the first half. Cal would triple that lead, scoring a pair of goals in the first seven minutes of the second half. Saint Mary's would cut the deficit to two goals with a
Justin Sosa strike from in close, however, the Golden Bears would push that lead back to three just four minutes later. In the waning moments of the match,
Emmanuel Duran earned a penalty kick, which
Jack Vestberg buried for his first goal, to end the match on a high note for the Gaels, but the clock hit zeroes with the final tally sitting at 4-2 in favor of Cal.
FIRST HALF SMC 0-1 CAL
Through the first 17 minutes and change of this match, the Gaels and Golden Bear looked like a pair of evenly matched squads. The Gaels fired off three early chances, but the Golden Bears stifling defense did not allow for Saint Mary's to get a clean look on frame. Shots sat at 4-3 in the early goings, in favor of Cal, however, the Golden Bears seemed to turn the intensity up at the 20 minute mark, possessing the ball for the majority of the final 25 minutes of the first half. The Gaels would defend well, preventing Cal from getting clean looks on goal despite their long spurts of possession, until the 37th minutes, when the Golden Bears drove the length of the pitch, held onto possession in the 18 yard box despite numerous Gaels clearance attempts, and fired the opening salvo point blank in front of Sam Bentley to take their first lead. Cal continued to hold possession for the final eight minutes of the half, but the Gaels defense returned to form, not allowing a shot for the remainder of the period, as they headed into the halftime break trailing by just one goal.
FINAL SMC 2 - 4 CAL
The scoring came fast and furious in the second half, with Cal scoring two of the combined five second half goals in the first six and a half minutes of the frame. The first of the Golden Bears' second half goals was an absolute screamer from beyond the 18 yard box that snuck in beautifully under the crossbar. Cal's shooter was pressured by Bastien Toelhoej, but an absolutely perfect, high arching shot beat Bentley to double up the Golden Bears' lead. Less than two minutes later, Cal found space to operate in the 18 again, and were able to find paydirt from in close to go ahead 3-0.
Despite the 3-0 deficit, the Gaels refused to give in, and ended Cal's clean sheet bid in the 62nd minute on a well timed out link up between Wade Muttitt and Justin Sosa. Muttitt, freshly on the pitch, grabbed possession on the left flank and knifed in before delivering a through ball to Sosa, who perfectly timed his run into the 18. Sosa found himself one on one with Cal's keeper and shot low towards the back post, beating the keeper and sneaking the ball inside the woodwork for his first goal of 2024.
Cal pushed their lead back to three goals less than five minutes later, with a one time shot from an uncontested cross on the right side flank. Down 4-1, the Gaels did everything they could to kick their play into high gear, resulting in a few more scoring opportunities, including their second goal. In the 86th, Jack Vestberg made a nice run into the teeth of the Cal defense and threaded the needle on a through ball to Emmanuel Duran in his first ever action as a Gael. Duran was wiped out by the Golden Bears' keeper and earned a point to the spot by the referee, later confirmed by VAR. Vestberg was handed the ball with the Gaels typical PK taker Bastien Toelhoej off the pitch, and promptly buried his shot with excellent pace and placement, despite the keeper guessing the correct direction. Saint Mary's would continue to press until the final whistle, but the Golden Bears were able to salt away the clock and earn the victory by a 4-2 tally.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Gaels will have another eight days off before getting back to conference play, as they head to Portland for a date with the Pilots. That matchup is scheduled for 10/30 with a 7 PM kickoff. Stream live on ESPN+.
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