MORAGA, Calif. - On Thursday, September 12th, the Saint Mary's men's soccer team returned home for a pair of games against Big West members UC Davis and Sacramento State. The Gaels offense sputtered to start the game as the Aggies got out to a 2-0 lead at the half but they would threaten to score on several chances with six shots in the second half alone. UC Davis would leave Saint Mary's Stadium with the two goal victory as the Gaels recorded their third loss of the season. 

FIRST HALF SMC 0-2 UC DAVIS

Head coach Adam Cooper returned forward Wade Muttitt and midfielder Cesar Batres to the starting lineup as the Gaels came out with another similar lineup from recent weeks. UC Davis was very dangerous from the wide zones all game long and were able to generate nine first half shots compared to just two for the Gaels. Their early pressure would result in the first goal of the game in the 20th minute off a second cross following an Aggies corner kick. 

In similar fashion, UC Davis would score on another cross, this one being played nicely across the face of goal for the easy tap-in to double their lead in the 33rd minute. Freshman goalkeeper Sam Bentley was only forced to make one save outside of the two goals in the first half. Cooper would make a formation change following the first goal as center back Nick Strangio would depart for senior midfielder Jack Vestberg to make it a traditional back four. The four year veteran would make his first appearance of the season after returning from injury and finish the match with 36 minutes of action.  

FINAL SMC 0-2 UC DAVIS

Looking to spark a fire, Cooper would come out with a near line change that featured eight new substitutes to start the second half. Among those new faces for the Gaels included defenders Jamal Marseille, Jackson Fyda and Sebastian Barrios who all made their SMC debut. They would help anchor the backline for Saint Mary's along with David Christensen and play all 45 minutes of the second half. 

The Gaels would go toe-to-toe with the Aggies in shots and finish with six-a-piece in the final 45. At the tail end of the 56th minute, junior forward Maxwell Farnum would help create the best chance of the game to that point for the Gaels. Alex Polyukh would collect a loose ball in the Aggies defensive end and find the feet of a darting Farnum who would get a one time shot off inside the box but the UC Davis keeper would come flying out to make the sliding challenge and save the shot attempt. 

In the 78th minute, senior forward Wade Muttitt put another dangerous shot on goal after Polyukh won a header near midfield off of a Gaels goal kick. Polyukh would win the initial header and flick it on towards Muttitt who found himself in some space running at goal. Muttitt would take it to his left and fire a shot on goal, forcing a necessary save low and to the keeper's right giving the Gaels a corner kick. UC Davis would fail to score in the second half but ultimately see out the game and hold on for the shutout and their third win of the season. Muttitt, Christensen and Barrios each had two shots while captain Bastian Toelhoej and midfielder Cesar Batres played all 90 minutes.  

LOOKING AHEAD

Saint Mary's falls to 1-3-2 overall and will look for a bounce back victory on Sunday evening against Sacramento State. The Gaels have won five of their last six meetings with the Hornets dating back to the 2017 season and will look to make it six with kickoff slated for 5:00 PM on Sunday.   

Live stat and ticket links can be found at smcgaels.com and you can watch the game live on ESPN+. 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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