STANFORD, Calif. - Saint Mary's went toe-to-toe with 13th ranked Stanford Sunday night and even held a lead in the first half after scoring the game's first goal in the fifth minute. A whipped corner kick from Luke Lawrence found the head of center back Nick Strangio who forced a save from the Cardinal keeper but eventually followed up the rebound and put it in the back of the net to shock the crowd and give the Gaels a 1-0 lead. Stanford would show why their a national powerhouse though and respond with four unanswered goals including three in the first half to retake control of the game. The match would end 4-1 in favor of the Cardinal as Saint Mary's will look to regroup before heading out east to take on Boston and Dartmouth next week.   

FIRST HALF SMC 1-3 STANFORD

Stanford presented a dynamic, athletic and physical front line and they were committed to playing long and flying at the Gaels backline. Once again, Nick Strangio, Bastian Toelhoej and Fynn Allmon anchored the team's back three and held off early waves in the opening minutes. After developing their first attacking sequence of the match, the Gaels earned a corner kick from the far side to setup a whipped in ball from the left foot of junior defender Luke Lawrence. 

Lawrence picked out Strangio who rolled off his defender and found himself with a free header on the six yard box. Strangio's first attempt forced a reactive save from Stanford's keeper but he would follow his shot and put in the rebound with his right foot to stun the crowd and send the Gaels bench into a frenzy. 

The goal marked the third of his Gaels career and the first this season. Lawrence would also get credit for just his second assist of his SMC career. Saint Mary's was riding high as they found themselves up a goal just five minutes into the contest but Stanford would answer back just four minutes later with a goal off a set piece of their own. 

The game started to find its place after two goals in the opening ten minutes, but the Cardinal really had their foot on the gas with relentless pressure and numerous deep balls into the Gaels backline. In the 28th minute they would strike again, this time off a throw in that rattled around in the box and found the foot of a Stanford forward who sent it into the back of the net to give them their first lead of the game at 2-1. 

With just five minutes to go in the first half, Saint Mary's was starting to get some pressure in Stanford's defensive half but a cleared ball would find the feet of a Cardinal midfielder who took it deep into Gaels territory to ignite the counter. The ball would find it's way wide to the top of the penalty box where Stanford's forward would have a shot but the deflection would fall to the feet of a teammate in the penalty box who slotted it past Sam Bentley for their third goal of the half. The Gaels were able to manufacture one more scoring chance just before the end of the half though and test the Cardinal keeper in the closing seconds. Saint Mary's would earn a free kick and get a shot attempt off from sophomore midfielder Toke Amtrup who put an acrobatic left footed volley on frame and forced a crucial save from Stanford's keeper to maintain their two goal lead.  

FINAL SMC 1-4 STANFORD

Stanford would add one more goal in the 67th minute to close out the game and win 4-1. Storm Schmidt Hollensted, Toke Amtrup and David Christensen saw quality playing time in the second half and senior forward Tyler Hardin recorded a shot off the bench in his 29 minutes of action. Koren Klein and Maxwell Farnum also made appearances off the bench and combined for 40 minutes of action. Freshman Sam Bentley made his second career start in goal and finished with a season high four saves.  

LOOKING AHEAD

Saint Mary's falls to 1-2 overall and will head to the east coast next week to take on Boston University and Dartmouth. They will first take on Boston on Thursday, September 5th at 1:00 PM pacific and conclude the weekend at Dartmouth on Sunday. Live stream, stat and ticket links can all 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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