MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's women's soccer team will compete in their first out of state games as they travel to Tennessee to go head to head against Tennessee Tech Thursday August 22nd and Vanderbilt on Sunday August 25th.
GAME INFORMATION AND COVERAGE
GAELS RECAP
In last week's match-ups, the Gaels competed against UC Irvine and San Jose State to officially begin their 2024 season.
Saint Mary's held their first home match to the Anteaters where UC Irvine came out on top with a 3-0 win over the Gaels. The Anteaters scored their first goal in just 47 seconds into the game; however, that did not stop SMC from attacking. Just under the 30 minute mark, UC Irvine scored their second goal of the match to give them a 2-0 lead over the Gaels. By the end of the first half the Anteaters outshot Saint Mary's 7-4.
Gaels outshot UC Irvine in the second half five to four; however, the Anteaters broke through the Saint Mary's defense in the 48th minute for their first shot of the second half to make it a 3-0 UC Irvine lead. The second half became a physical battle between both teams as three yellow cards were given out, two only given seven minutes apart. SMC goalkeeper
Kate Plachy ended the match with a save with only 44 seconds remaining in the game.
As the Gaels headed South to go head to head against San Jose State, the game ended in a 0-0 tie with Saint Mary's playing a significantly stronger second half than the Spartans. The first half consisted of high intensity and good physicality from both sides. In the 21st minute the Spartans won a free kick around 25 yards out and fired an attempt but sophomore goalkeeper Plachy handled the shot to keep the match scoreless. The Gaels defended for the majority of the first half, but center backs
Amari Hicks and
Molly Silva remained solid and made clutch 1-v-1 tackles in open space to deny scoring opportunities.
Coming out of half time, SMC came out with high energy and chances on a goal from both
Tessa Salvestrin and
Savannah Schwarze. Salvestrin continued to attack the San Jose State keeper as she broke away from the Spartan defenders down the right side of the 18-yard box causing the keeper to push the ball over the bar. The Gaels continued to put pressure on San Jose State's defense with attempting seven shots in the half and only allowing two attempts from the Spartans. At the heart of the Gaels offense junior forward Salvestrin led all players with seven shots in her 61 minutes of action while SMC goalkeeper Plachy secured her first career shutout.
ABOUT TENNESSEE TECH (Ohio Valley Conference)
For the first time in program history, Saint Mary's and Tennessee Tech will compete against one another. In the 2023 season, the Golden Eagles finished the season with a 9-6-4 overall record and a 7-1-1 in conference. Tennessee Tech ended their previous season falling short in double overtime in the OVC Tournament championship match against Morehead State 0-1.
The Golden Eagles opened up this year's season to Samford, losing 3-1 and three days later tied 2-2 against Miami (OH). The sophomore Neven Renwick leads Tennessee Tech with four points as she scored in the 59th minute against Samford and in the 13th minute against Miami (OH). In two games, Renwich has attempted eight shots, splitting four in each game.
ABOUT VANDERBILT (SEC Conference)
Vanderbilt and Saint Mary's look to go head to head once again since 2007, where the Gaels defeated the Commodores 3-2 in overtime. This happens to be the only win SMC has against Vanderbilt as the teams have faced off three times with a Saint Mary's overall record of 1-2-0.
The Commodores began their 2024 season on the road as they faced off against No.21/RV Georgetown. It appeared that Georgetown played a significantly stronger game with 13-7 shots and securing 57% of possession; however, each team had four shots on target and four saves. Vanderbilt goalkeeper Sara Wojdelko posted three saves in the match to register her fifth shutout in her career and ties for the match high. With a back and forth battle, the match ended in a 0-0 tie.
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