MORAGA, Calif. - Like the women, the Saint Mary's men's soccer team will return to Moraga for their first home conference match of the season. They will kickoff a Saturday doubleheader starting at 1:00 PM as they take on the Lions of LMU who enter the match with a 4-3-2 overall record. The 2024 season officially started over last week with the start of WCC play and the Gaels will look to build some momentum and seek their first conference win of the season and third straight over the Lions dating back to 2022.
GAME INFORMATION AND COVERAGE
GAELS OUTLOOK
Saint Mary's drew a tough matchup to start conference play as they took on reigning WCC champs San Diego last weekend and fell 4-2. The Gaels came within a goal in the first half thanks to a successful penalty kick from center back
Bastian Toelhoej. Toelhoej has been the number one option from the penalty spot this season as his team leading three goals have all come from penalties. San Diego would answer back with two more second half goals and then junior midfielder
BJ Ruzmir would score his first goal as a Gael in the 77th minute off a stellar one-time volley to give Saint Mary's some momentum heading into this week.
Head coach
Adam Cooper and his squad have showcased some of their depth and versatility throughout the season, displaying several different formations and groups of players. They have shown their ability to come from behind and battle until the very end as they have three draws on the season. In recent matches, the Gaels have gotten some great life and energy off the bench from junior forward
Maxwell Farnum as well as midfielder
BJ Ruzmir. Farnum brings a great tenacity onto the pitch and has showcased his speed and long ball threat. Ruzmir has also brought a great physical presence to the Gaels midfield as he helped the team to a scoreless draw in their last non-conference match against San Jose State where he played a season high 79 minutes.
Despite the team's start to the 2024 season, all bets are off when conference action begins. Saint Mary's has won two straight and five of their last seven matches over LMU in their series history. They'll have another tough test though on Saturday as the Lions are entering the match on a five game unbeaten streak and took down Gonzaga last week to start WCC play 1-0.
ABOUT LMU (WCC)
LMU finished behind Saint Mary's in the conference standings in 2023 with a 2-3-2 record. Despite just two wins in WCC play, the Lions were 7-4-6 overall and earned an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament. They would take advantage of the at-large bid and win three matches to advance to the program's first ever Elite Eight and finish the season at 10-5-6. There, they would fall to 5th ranked West Virginia to end their season but their postseason run would help put them on the map as the Lions were ranked 11th in the country in this year's United Soccer Coaches preseason poll.
LMU enters Saturday's match with a 4-3-2 overall record and are 1-0 in WCC play after taking down Gonzaga last week 1-0. Quality wins for the Lions include Cal, Grand Canyon and the Zags. LMU also played their way to an impressive scoreless draw against #1 ranked West Virginia. The Lions have been very stable so far and their success lies with their defense. They have only scored eight goals on the year but have only allowed eight goals good for the second lowest total in the WCC. They have also recorded shutouts in four of their last five matches and rank first in the conference with five on the year.
LMU is on a current five game unbeaten streak dating back to September 10th and will be another tough test for the Gaels. They are led by head coach Kyle Schmid who took over the program in 2022. Schmid was previously the Associate Head Coach alongside Paul Krumpe and was then promoted after he stepped down following the 2021 season. Since Krumpe took over, he led the Lions to a fourth place league finish in 2022 and then the NCAA Tournament in 2023 and the program's first ten win season since 2021.
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