MORAGA, Calif. - The 2024 season will come to an end for Saint Mary's Saturday night as they take on Pacific at 7:00 PM. The Gaels will look for their third win of the season and with some other help, could climb to sixth place in the standings. Head coach
Adam Cooper and his squad have been in dominant form against the Tigers in recent years, winning six of their last seven meetings dating back to 2018.
GAME COVERAGE
Pacific vs. Saint Mary's
Knoles Field | Stockton, Calif. | November 16th, 7:00 PM
ESPN+ |
Live Stats | Free Admission
GAELS OUTLOOK
Saint Mary's played their final home game of the season last week against San Francisco and fell 3-2. The Gaels went with a senior heavy lineup with nine of their eleven starters playing their final game in Saint Mary's Stadium.
San Francisco scored three quick goals within the first twenty minutes of the game but the Gaels would answer with goals from
Cade Cowan and
Justin Sosa to make it a one-goal game. The Gaels would pepper the Dons defense with eleven shots in the second half and force four saves from their keeper, but USF would hang on for the 3-2 victory to remain in third place in the conference standings.
Cowan recorded his first goal of the season and the fifth of his SMC career with a curling attempt into the top right corner. Then Sosa would net his second of the year in the second half off a pass from
Emmanuel Duran, his first collegiate assist as a Gael after transferring in from Napa Valley JC.
Saint Mary's will look to end the season on a high note, seeking their fourth straight win over Pacific dating back to the 2021 season. The Gaels are 1-1-1 over their last three games but have come alive offensively, scoring seven goals over that stretch. Pacific has only allowed 20 goals on the season, good for fourth fewest in the WCC, but have only scored 12 goals for fewest among the nine conference teams.
ABOUT PACIFIC (WCC)
The Pacific Tigers have had a tough year, entering Saturday's contest with just three wins and are second to last in the WCC with a 1-5-1 conference record. The Tigers started 2-1-1 with wins over UC Davis and UC Riverside in non-conference play but failed to get back in the win column for the next eleven games of the season.
They were winless in conference play until last week when they beat Gonzaga 2-0 in Spokane, their first victory since September first. Pacific has still put together some quality results featuring ties to Portland and 2nd ranked Stanford in which they scored first and held a 1-0 first half lead. Pacific last finished in the top half of the league standings in 2021 with a 4-1-2 WCC record, good for second place. However, they have finished in the bottom three of the conference in four of their last five seasons and will add another season to that total after Saturday's game.
Pacific is led by head coach Adam Reeves in his sixth season after taking over in 2019. Reeves joined the Tigers after helping Cal Poly Pomona grow into a national powerhouse at the Division II level. Under Reeves, the Broncos won a total of 34 games in two seasons, making back-to-back NCAA Division II Semifinal appearances in 2017 and 2018. Reeves and his staff won the NCAA Division II West Region Coaching Staff of the Year honors in both 2017 and 2018 as well.
Saturday's game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and tickets can be bought online at smcgaels.com. Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
