SAN JOSE, Calif. - On Sunday, August 18th, the Gaels traveled south for their first road matchup to conclude their 2024 opening weekend against San Jose State. After defending for much of the first half and weathering several Spartan attacks, Saint Mary's would flip the switch in the final 45 and outshoot San Jose State 7-2 with several quality chances in front of goal. At the heart of the Gaels offense was junior forward Tessa Salvestrin who led all players with seven shots in her 61 minutes of action. 

FIRST HALF SMC 0-0 SJSU

Both the Spartans and the Gaels came up empty in their season openers on Thursday and that was made very clear in the opening minutes with high intensity and good physicality from both sides. Saint Mary's was solid in ball possession but costly turnovers in their own end sprung San Jose State into the attack for much of the first 45 minutes. In the 21st minute, the Spartans won a free kick around 25 yards out and would fire an attempt at goal but sophomore keeper Kate Plachy would handle the direct shot comfortably to keep the game scoreless. 

The Spartans were also dangerous in open space and in 1-v-1 scenarios as their wingers got in behind to serve dangerous balls into the box. Just nine minutes later, the Gaels would get caught in build-up but Plachy would make another crucial stop on a shot attempt just outside the six yard box. Salvestrin came off the bench for the Gaels and made her impact felt right away as she had the team's best chance in the 34th minute off of a corner kick from the far side. The initial delivery would take a deflection and find its way to Salvestrin on the back post who hit a left footed shot on goal but the Spartans keeper would make a necessary one handed save to deny the goal leading to an eventual scoreless first half.  

The Gaels did defend for the majority of the first half but center backs Amari Hicks and Molly Silva remained solid and made some clutch 1-v-1 tackles in open space to deny scoring opportunities. Camryn Cruz and Savannah Schwarze also showed good energy and physicality in the midfield and Plachy ended the half with a pair of saves. 



FINAL SMC 0-0 SJSU

Right off the bat, Saint Mary's flipped the script and came out on the front foot with high energy and chances on goal from Salvestrin and Schwarze. In the 64th minute, Salvestrin would get loose on a breakaway down the right side of the 18-yard box. As she entered the box, she would be faced with two defenders goal side but cut inside beautifully onto her left foot and let a shot go that was acrobatically pushed over the bar by the San Jose State keeper. The save had to be made and the reaction was first class from the Spartans keeper as she denied the Gaels best scoring chance of the game.

The Gaels continued with relentless pressure and scoring chances and as a result the game would take a turn for the worse for the Spartans. In the 76th minute, a late and high challenge on defender Emmie Ennis would prompt a red card to put San Jose State down a player for the final 14 minutes of the game. The offensive pressure would only intensify as head coach Theresa Romagnolo recognized the situation and moved to three players in the back and added a fifth midfielder to go for the late victory. 

The chances continued including a shot that fizzed wide left from sophomore winger Sydney Middaugh in the 82nd minute. The Gaels had a corner kick in the 84th minute but the final whistle would eventually blow as the Spartans hung on for the scoreless draw. The offensive energy was a big step forward for Saint Mary's as they outshot the Spartans 7-2 in the second half and 11-8 in the full 90. Plachy also secured her first career shutout as they will look to build off of this performance as they head to Tennessee next week. 



LOOKING AHEAD  

Saint Mary's improves to 0-1-1 on the season and will continue their non-conference slate in Tennessee starting next Thursday as they take on Tennessee Tech. They will finish the road trip against SEC member Vanderbilt on Sunday, August 25th at 11:00 AM pacific. Live stats, stream and ticket links can all be found at smcgaels.com.   

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