PORTLAND, Ore. - On a wet and cold night at Merlo Field Saint Mary's capped off a wild final ten minutes with a late equalizer from
Jude Zamora to salvage a point against the Pilots. The Gaels ended a two game skid with Portland dating back to 2022 and recorded their sixth tie of the season.
Wade Muttitt scored his third goal of the season in the 24th minute to give the Gaels a 1-0 lead. After two unanswered goals from Portland,
Jude Zamora would tie things up in the 84th minute, just 44 seconds after the Pilots took the lead.
FIRST HALF SMC 1-0 PU
Despite a tough environment with rain and wind, the Gaels came out with great energy in the first half as they outshot the Pilots 10-4 in the first half. Just five minutes into the match,
Jude Zamora would play a beautiful ball from the right wing to a darting
Wade Muttitt who settled the ball and fired a shot on frame but saw it pushed aside by the Portland goalkeeper.
They would finally put one away in the 24th minute with a great series of passes as senior forward
Jack Vestberg would slip Muttitt into the box who calmly slotted it home for his third goal of the season. Zamora started the sequence with a firm pass into the feet of Vestberg allowing him to drive into the top of the box before finding Muttitt for the goal.
Vestberg now has two assists on the year, both times linking up with Muttitt as his other came in the team's 1-1 draw with LMU earlier this month.
FINAL SMC 2-2 PU
The game would flip for the Gaels as the Pilots became the enforcers in the second half. They went on to outshoot the Gaels 11-5 but some pivotal one-v-one defending would keep them off the scoreboard.
Ian Smith was tremendous on the wing with several key challenges and
Cesar Batres anchored the team's midfield with his third 90-minute performance.
Portland would eventually break through in the 71st minute on a penalty kick and then take the lead in the 84th minute with a chance to take all three points. However, the Gaels would answer within a minute of Portland taking the lead thanks to
Jude Zamora who put a shot into the roof of the net for his second goal of the season.
The Gaels earned a free kick on the far side and defender
Luke Lawrence would send the ball into the box. After the initial clearance, Batres would have a shot attempt from just outside the eighteen but it would deflect and find the feet of Zamora on the corner of the six yard box. There he would hammer a shot into the roof of the net to equalize and go sliding in celebration towards the team's bench as he helped earn a tough point on the road. Batres would also record his first assist of his collegiate career.
Sam Bentley would make five saves in goal all coming in the second half while Muttitt led the team with three shots in the match. The Gaels got great production from their backline with
Luke Lawrence,
Bastian Toelhoej,
Fynn Allmon and
Ian Smith playing all 90 minutes.
Cade Cowan and
Cesar Batres were the other two players to play all 90 minutes, just the second time for Cowan this season.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's improves to 1-7-6 overall and 0-2-3 in WCC play. The Gaels have three more games to conclude their season and will return to Saint Mary's Stadium this Saturday to take on Gonzaga at 1:00 PM. Tickets can be bought online at smcgaels.com/tickets and you can stream the game live on ESPN+.
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