MORAGA, Calif. - The Gaels men's soccer team returns to conference action this week with matches against Portland and Gonzaga. They will travel to Portland to take on the Pilots Wednesday night and will then return to Saint Mary's Stadium this Saturday to take on the Bulldogs at 1:00 PM. They will have two great chances to grab their first conference win of the season as both teams sit outside of the top four in the league standings.
GAME INFORMATION AND COVERAGE
GAELS OUTLOOK
Saint Mary's took on Cal in their final non-conference match of the season last week and fell 4-2 in Edwards Stadium. The Gaels went down 3-0 but scored two goals in the final half hour of regulation thanks to
Justin Sosa and
Jack Vestberg who converted a penalty kick in the 86th minute. Both Sosa and Vestberg would record their first goals of the season and
Wade Muttitt would get the assist on Sosa's goal for his first of the year.
Cal tallied 13 total shots but only put four on target while Saint Mary's finished the match with seven.
Fynn Allmon and
Jackson Fyda played all 90 minutes for the Gaels in their backline. Fyda has now started in four straight games dating back to October 5th against LMU.
Sam Bentley made his 10th start in goal this season and despite giving up four goals, he did not record a save and was virtually untested by the Bears offense.
Head coach
Adam Cooper and his squad have not had the year they were hoping for but do have an opportunity to rack up some victories down the home stretch of conference play as two of their last three matches are against the bottom two teams and all three opponents, including Portland, are outside of the top four. Historically, the Pilots are riding a two game win streak dating back to 2022 but prior to that, the Gaels put together a five game win streak from 2017 to 2021.
Portland has had an up and down season of their own as they drew against top ranked Denver back in September but then tied 1-1 with Sacramento State and have recorded just one win in WCC play. They will have a tough finish to their season as they take on San Diego and Oregon State who sit one and two in the league standings.
Saint Mary's will finish the week at home on Saturday taking on Gonzaga at 1:00 PM. The Bulldogs sit in last place in the WCC standings and are winless in conference play. All six wins for the Zags this season have come in non-conference play and despite scoring the second most goals in the WCC, they have allowed 24 goals good for second most. The Gaels have won nine of their last eleven meetings over the Zags dating back to the 2014 season.
ABOUT PORTLAND (WCC)
Portland has had a bit of a wonky season this year with some impressive results and ones they wish they could have back. They currently sit in fifth place and are one of just three unbeaten teams left in conference play with a 1-0-3 record. They started WCC play with three straight ties against Santa Clara, Pacific and San Francisco before grabbing their first win over Gonzaga this past week.
The Pilots have put together some impressive results including a scoreless tie over top ranked Denver back in September. They also beat Washington 2-1 to open up their 2024 season and most recently took down Cal 2-0 in their last non-conference match of the season. Portland has been a rather conservative team on both ends of the field, having only scored 20 goals and allowing 19 on the year.
Despite the lack of victories, Portland has not lost a match since the middle of September when they fell to 22nd ranked Santa Barbara. They have five players with multiple goals on the season and are led by sophomore forward Nicholas Dunbar who has four on the season. Junior midfielder Nick Fernandez appears to be the focal point for the team offensively, leading all players with five assists and two goals of his own. Portland owns a two game win streak over Saint Mary's dating back to 2022 but prior to that the Gaels had won five straight matches from 2017 to 2021.
ABOUT GONZAGA (WCC)
Gonzaga has been in tough form as a program in recent years as they sit in last place in the WCC with an 0-5 conference record. The Zags got off to a good start in their non-conference schedule starting the season 5-0. Things would take a turn for the worse though in their final non-conference games as they suffered losses to Cal Poly and Western Illinois.
They would pick up an upset victory over 9th ranked Seattle and a pair of draws to Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Bakersfield but began conference play with five straight losses and have not recorded a win since early September. They currently hold a 6-7-2 overall record and will try to eclipse seven wins in a season for the first time since 2021.
This year, the Bulldogs have been able to put up goals scoring 28 on the season good for second most in the conference. However, they have allowed 24 goals defensively, also good for second most in the WCC. Saint Mary's has won nine of their last eleven meetings with Gonzaga dating back to the 2014 season but the Zags will attempt to record their first conference victory this Saturday at Saint Mary's Stadium.
Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and tickets can be bought at smcgaels.com/tickets. Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
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