MORAGA, Calif. - Following the team's bye week, Saint Mary's will head up the Caldecott Tunnel to take on Cal in their final non-conference match of the season. The two teams last met in 2022 where the Gaels fell 1-0 to the Bears at Edwards Stadium but SMC had won two of the previous three meetings dating back to 2010. Head coach Adam Cooper and his squad will look to build some momentum as they resume conference play the following week at Portland. They are coming off of a scoreless draw against Santa Clara but put up 14 shots in the match, good for second most on the season.    

GAME INFORMATION AND COVERAGE 

 

	vs.
Tuesday, October 22nd | 3:00 PM
Edwards Stadium | Berkeley, Calif.
Watch | ACCx
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GAELS OUTLOOK

After their two goal road defeat to 21st ranked San Diego, Saint Mary's has gone 0-1-2 with draws against LMU and Santa Clara. The Gaels are starting to develop more consistency on both ends of the field and will look for a non-conference victory over Cal on Tuesday before their final four conference games to finish the regular season. The Gaels saw Santa Clara in their first exhibition of the season back in August but it was nearly two months until they met in WCC action. Two weeks ago, they would head to the South Bay to take on the Broncos and despite outshooting them 14-9, the game would end scoreless for their fifth draw of the season. 

Once again the Gaels made positive strides offensively with numerous chances on goal as they were relentless in the second half. Santa Clara failed to keep Saint Mary's out of their defensive half as they allowed 10 of their 14 shots in the final 45 minutes. Jackson Fyda and Nick Strangio have continued to anchor the center back roles as senior captain Bastian Toelhoej has seen more time in the team's midfield in recent matches. The Gaels sit in seventh place in the conference standings but are just one point out of fifth. 

They will have a tough road matchup against Portland next week but will have three winnable games, two at home, to end the regular season. Head coach Adam Cooper and his squad are trying to keep an impressive streak alive of 13 straight top-four conference finishes dating back to 2011. During that span Cooper and the Gaels have captured three WCC titles and made three NCAA Tournament appearances. Outside of the top two teams in the league standings, spots 3-7 are all separated by just two games so if the Gaels can rattle off some wins down the stretch they can make a run to the top half of the conference.            

ABOUT CAL (ACC)

Cal enters Tuesday's match with a 4-6-2 overall record and a 1-3-2 record in conference play after starting their first season in the ACC back in September. The Bears have joined the best conference in college soccer and the depth of competition shows as they have just one win and sit in 12th place in the league standings. 

Cal has put together some impressive results but have also suffered some non-conference defeats to WCC members LMU and Portland. The Bears have given up just 15 goals on the year but have only scored 16 to give them a +1 goal differential. Nonso Adimabua and Arik Duncan lead the way with three goals each and seven other Bears have recorded a goal this season. On the flip side, Cal has been in just about every conference match as they've lost three games by just a goal and also have a pair of ties against Virginia and Louisville. 

They pulled off one of their biggest upsets in program history with a 1-0 road victory over top ranked Pittsburgh with an early goal in the 21st minute. Cal did get outshot 18-4 in the match but were able to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard to earn their first ACC victory. However, they would head to Portland for a non-conference match the following week and fall 2-0 to the Pilots. Historically, these two programs have only met twice in the last eight years and split those two meetings. The Bears took down the Gaels two years ago at their place and will look to do the same Tuesday afternoon.  

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