RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Late night for the Saint Mary's women's soccer team as they finished out their non-conference schedule with a 1-0 victory over UC Riverside. The Gaels end their back to back loses thanks to Micaela Romo's shot in the 35th minute of the match. 
 
FIRST HALF SMC 1-0 UCR
From the start, the Highlanders made it clear that they wanted to be in the Gaels territory; however Saint Mary's wanted the same thing. With UCR Paige Garner shooting wide left in the first minute, SMC Emma Barthel shot in the 5th as her attempt was saved by goalkeeper Christina Sidoti. Gaels continued to put pressure on UC Riverside defense as Savannah Schwarze put another on target shot, just under the 12th minute mark. 
 
After being given some space, the Highlanders happened to be off target back to back times. This allowed Saint Mary's to pick up some momentum as Taylour Mendoza shot just a bit too high and only 42 seconds later, Taylor Kessler shot was saved by Sidoti. The Gaels substitute Micaela Romo into the match in the 29th minute. With just two minutes of stepping onto the field, Romo shoots wide right for SMC. 
 
With multiple substitutions coming from UC Riverside, the Gaels continue to attack as Maddie Lucas shoots high. In the 35th minute, Romo scores her first goal of the season, with an assist by Lucas. Saint Mary's closes out the first half with Mendoza attempting one last time in the 36th minute. 
 
FINAL SMC 1-0 UCR
Just a few minutes into the second half of the match, the Gaels gave the Highlanders a penalty kick in the 52nd minute. UC Riverside missed giving the ball back to the Gaels allowing Mendoza to get a shot off that happens to be blocked by the Highlander's defense. Within a minute and a half of each other, UCR Sanaa Guyness's shot was saved by SMC goalkeeper Kate Plachy, Khalia Gathright's shot was saved by Sidoti, and Molly Silva shot wide right. 
 
After multiple substitutions on both sides, Alessandra Towle tried to put one in the back of the net, but shot wide left, followed by Romo's shot five minutes later. The Highlanders continued to make substitutions throughout the remainder of the game, but the Gaels were able to stop UC Riverside and give Plachy another shutout. 
 
Saint Mary's outshot UCR 15-6 with six shots on target, followed by 53% of possession time and four saves for Plachy. 
 
LOOKING AHEAD 
Saint Mary's advances their overall record to 3-4-1 on the season. The Gaels will compete in their first conference match in Portland on September 28th to take on Portland at 7:00PM. 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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