PORTLAND, Oreg. - On a cold Saturday night in Portland, the Saint Mary's women soccer team competed in their first conference match of the season. After a physical battle between both teams, the Pilots had to match the Gaels while being down a player. SMC tried to battle with 17 shots taken in the second half of the match, but still fell short 3-1 to Portland. 
 
SMC 0-1 PORTLAND
The Pilots dominated in the first half of the match as they attempted multiple shots before putting the first point on the board in the 26th minute by Violet Rademacher. Things take a turn in the 31st minute as a Portland player was given a red card. Saint Mary's adjusted their starting position of attack to get more numbers up the field to apply pressure on the Portland defense. 
 
SMC earned their only corner kick of the half in the 34th minute. It was a perfect ball to the center where it headed out and landed at Alessandra Towle's feet. She took a shot low right, saved by Bre Norris. 
 
With a continued battle by the Gaels, Saint Mary's regained possession in Portland territory. With an accurate pass right outside the box, Micaela Romo brought the ball down in front of a defender and shot to the top center of the goal, saved by Norris. 
 
By the end of the half, the Pilots outshot SMC 7-3, but both goalkeepers put up three saves. 
 
FINAL SMC 1-3 PORTLAND
The Gaels started off the second half strong with a physical battle inside the box at the 55th minute. Portland recovers and wins the 50/50 ball; however, it bounced and Freshman Maddie Lucas got in the mix of things. Lucas was able to get a step ahead of Portland, where she was tripped up. This allowed the Gaels to earn a penalty. The Gaels leading scorer Tessa Salvestrin lines up for the penalty and shoots hard to the top center of the net to equalize the game to 1-1. This is Salvestrin's fifth goal of the season and ninth in a Saint Mary's jersey. 
 
By the 70th minute Portland had two unanswered goals to have a 3-1 lead. Saint Mary's tried to equalize the match with another shot attempt in the 77th minute, but Norris tipped the ball out to the right. In the 83rd minute, SMC tried two more times with a loose ball in the center of the box. The first being deflected and the second headed by Briana Salvetti. 
 
Amari Hicks completed the match with her 9th 90 minute game, followed by Towle with her 5th of the season. Romo hit her career high in shot attempts with 5, giving her 9 for the season, and tying her 2023 overall. 
 
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's advances their overall record to 3-4-1, 0-1 in conference for the season. The Gaels will host their first conference match next Wednesday, October 2nd at 4:00 PM to go head to head with LMU. 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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