MORAGA, Calif. - After splitting their opening weekend and coming away with their first victory of the 2024 campaign over Cal Poly, Saint Mary's will head to the South Bay for a showdown with 13th ranked Stanford on Sunday, September 1st at 5:00 PM. Head coach
Adam Cooper and his squad bounced back nicely after Thursday's defeat to Kansas City and got two stunners from Wade Muttit and
Jude Zamora to take down the Mustangs 2-0.
The Gaels controlled ball possession and the pace of play and handled the aggressiveness of Cal Poly extremely well.
Fynn Allmon,
Nick Strangio and
Bastian Toelhoej were excellent in the backline and freshman goalkeeper
Sam Bentley earned his first career start and clean sheet. Stanford will have their hands full with the explosiveness of Muttit up top and the Gaels also bring good chemistry defensively with their backline and wing backs
Ian Smith and
Luke Lawrence.
GAME INFORMATION AND COVERAGE
GAELS OUTLOOK
Saint Mary's kicked off their 2024 season with a pair of home matches against Kansas City and Cal Poly last week. The Gaels battled the Roos for the first time in program history but a late goal from distance would steal the victory for Kansas City. However, the Gaels would bounce back nicely and get several standout performances to earn a 2-0 win for their first of the season.
Senior forward
Wade Muttitt got things going with a right-footed stunner in the 9th minute to give Saint Mary's the early 1-0 lead. Cal Poly made it very clear they wanted to play long and be physical in the air. The Gaels backline was stout and organized all evening as
Bastian Toelhoej,
Fynn Allmon and
Nick Strangio anchored the team's back three to earn their first shutout of the season. Later in the first half, fellow senior forward
Jude Zamora would get subbed on and within his first minute of being on the field Zamora would collect a loose ball in the offensive half and send another rocket of a shot into the top left corner of the goal to stun the Mustangs and double the Gaels lead.
In goal, head coach
Adam Cooper gave freshman
Sam Bentley his first collegiate start and the young man from Hertfordshire, England did not disappoint. Bentley was solid all game long but made a pair of crucial saves in the second half including an acrobatic touch from a dangerous Cal Poly free kick just outside the box. Bentley would go on to record his first career shutout with the 2-0 victory and likely guarantee his spot in goal for the team's next game. Muttitt went on to be named the department's Shamrock Office Solutions Student-Athlete of the Week for the second time in his Gaels career. Saint Mary's will certainly be up for the test as they take on 13th ranked Stanford on Sunday night.
ABOUT STANFORD (ACC)
The Stanford Cardinal come into Sunday's match with a 2-1 overall record after thumping Cal State Fullerton 5-0 on Thursday night. The Cardinal avenged a home upset the week prior when they fell to Denver 1-0 and were able to net a season high five goals against the Titans. Prior to that defeat, Stanford held a preseason ranking of 5th in the country and will certainly be one of the top programs again this season, poised to make a deep postseason run.
Their other non-conference win came against San Jose State, defeating the Spartans at home 2-1. The Cardinal are led by head coach Jeremy Gunn in his 12th year and he continues to build upon an impressive resume that features three straight National Championships from 2015-17. Stanford will officially join the ACC this season and take on notable competitors such as Notre Dame, North Carolina and Duke before the ACC Championship Tournament in November.
The Cardinal were an 11-win team last season in the Pac-12 and made it to the fourth round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to now conference rival Clemson. The Cardinal were picked 5th in the 2024 ACC Preseason Poll and Zach Bohane was named to the Preseason Watchlist as the team's lone selection. This season, the scoring has been mostly spread out with Shane de Flores leading the team with a pair of goals. Five other players have also recorded a goal on the season as they will seek their third win in front of another home crowd on Sunday night.
Sunday's match will be streamed live on the ACC Network on ESPN and tickets can be bought online at gostanford.com. Additional media links can be found 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.
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