MORAGA, Calif. - Saint Mary's returned to Moraga in good form after a 2-2 draw with Portland earlier in the week and put up a season high three goals in their win over Gonzaga Saturday afternoon.
Cesar Batres and
Owen Benson recorded their first collegiate goals and
Wade Muttitt grabbed his fourth goal of the year in the 90th minute to ice the game for the Gaels. As a result, they pickup up their first WCC win of the season and remain unbeaten in their last three conference matches with two draws and a win.
FIRST HALF SMC 2-1 GU
Head coach
Adam Cooper went with the same starting eleven from their match in Portland and got a similar start out of his squad with great pressure and some early chances. In the ninth minute, the Gaels would earn a corner kick after a shot on goal from
Justin Sosa and
Cesar Batres would connect on a stellar volley to beat the Gonzaga keeper and give his team a 1-0 lead.
The Bulldogs would clear the initial cross but the ball fell to the feet of Batres outside of the box who put his right foot through the back of the ball and connected for a beautiful strike that found the back of the net. The goal would be the first of his collegiate career as the Texas native has made 13 starts in his true freshman campaign.
The Zags would answer though with a nice spell of possession of their own and they would get rewarded with a goal in the 16th minute to tie things up at one. A cross from the far side would find the head of outside back Ian Silva who flicked his header attempt to the far post for his second goal of the season.
Saint Mary's continued to rack up the shot attempts though as they outshot Gonzaga 11-3 in the half. They got back into rhythm offensively and it was just a matter of time until they found the back of the net once again. In the 44th minute, the Gaels would catch the Bulldogs on a counter attack after winning the ball in their defensive half.
Tyler Hardin would drive up the middle of the field and play
Maxwell Farnum who made a run splitting the Zags center backs. Farnum would take the ball into the box and fire a shot that was saved but
Owen Benson would follow the play and put in the rebound for his first collegiate goal in his three seasons as a Gael.
FINAL SMC 3-1 GU
Saint Mary's would sit back a bit more defensively in the second half to kill off the game, allowing six shots from Gonzaga's offense.
Sam Bentley made his 12th start of the season and finished the match with four saves including a massive reaction save late in the second half off a Zags corner kick.
The Gaels would take advantage of the Bulldogs pushing up the field seeking the equalizer as
Wade Muttitt would get on the end of a long ball and beat the keeper one-v-one for his team leading fourth goal of the season.
Justin Sosa dumped a ball over the top and Muttitt's speed allowed him to get on the end of it and fire a shot to the far post to put the game on ice and give Saint Mary's their first conference win of the season.
Fynn Allmon,
Bastian Toelhoej,
Luke Lawrence and
Ian Smith played all 90 minutes in the backline for the second straight match to help preserve the victory. Senior midfielder
Cade Cowan also had a nice day for the Gaels playing all 90 minutes and leading the team with three shots. Saint Mary's recorded a season high 19 shots as they've put up back-to-back games with 15+ shots. The Gaels grab their tenth win over Gonzaga in their last twelve matches dating back to 2014.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's improves to 2-7-6 overall and 1-2-3 in WCC play after their 3-1 victory over Gonzaga. The Gaels will remain in Moraga for Senior Day next Saturday to take on San Francisco 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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