Saturday, November 8
San Francisco, CA
7:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
2-7-6, 2-4-2
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at
1
San Francisco
10-5-1, 5-3-0
1
2
F
Saint Mary's (CA)
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San Francisco
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Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
MSOC | Gaels Fall Narrowly to Dons in Final Road Contest of 2025 Campaign
11/8/2025 11:24:00 PM | Men's Soccer
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Saint Mary's traveled across the Bay Bridge Saturday night for their fifth match of the season against a ranked team, taking on the San Francisco Dons who were receiving votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll. The Gaels were fresh off their first road win of the season over Gonzaga the weekend prior, but the Dons continued their momentum and tallied 21 shots en route to the 1-0 victory.
San Francisco has now won five of their last seven matches and is contributing to one of the deepest seasons in the history of the West Coast Conference with three other teams in the national poll including Oregon State, San Diego and Portland. Saint Mary's was able to outshoot USF 9-8 in the first half and earn four corner kicks, but were unable to test the Dons goalkeeper before surrendering a goal in the 21st minute. The Gaels backline made up of Fynn Allmon, TJ Dilley, Hubert Deragon and Ian Smith played all 90 minutes while Jona Starek made his 15th start and played all 90 minutes in the Gaels midfield.
Sam Bentley finished with a game high four saves for his highest save total since finishing with five saves on October 19th in the Gaels 2-2 road draw with LMU.
Saint Mary's generated nice spells of pressure in the Dons defensive third but failed to test the keeper. San Francisco did a great job of blocking shots and clogging the passing lanes. They were finally able to breakthrough in the 21st minute. USF capitalized on a bit of a broken play after a deflected shot remained in the box. The Dons forward played a nice back pass towards the penalty spot that was finished first-time to put them up a goal midway through the first half.
Despite the pressure, the Gaels couldn't find the back of the net and the game would end with the lone goal for USF to give them their tenth win of the season. Saint Mary's fell to 2-7-6 overall and 2-4-2 in conference play.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Gaels 2025 campaign will come to an end next weekend as they host 8th ranked Portland on Senior Day in their season finale. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 PM and will be streamed on ESPN+. Tickets can be bought online smcgaels.com/tickets.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
San Francisco has now won five of their last seven matches and is contributing to one of the deepest seasons in the history of the West Coast Conference with three other teams in the national poll including Oregon State, San Diego and Portland. Saint Mary's was able to outshoot USF 9-8 in the first half and earn four corner kicks, but were unable to test the Dons goalkeeper before surrendering a goal in the 21st minute. The Gaels backline made up of Fynn Allmon, TJ Dilley, Hubert Deragon and Ian Smith played all 90 minutes while Jona Starek made his 15th start and played all 90 minutes in the Gaels midfield.
Sam Bentley finished with a game high four saves for his highest save total since finishing with five saves on October 19th in the Gaels 2-2 road draw with LMU.
Saint Mary's generated nice spells of pressure in the Dons defensive third but failed to test the keeper. San Francisco did a great job of blocking shots and clogging the passing lanes. They were finally able to breakthrough in the 21st minute. USF capitalized on a bit of a broken play after a deflected shot remained in the box. The Dons forward played a nice back pass towards the penalty spot that was finished first-time to put them up a goal midway through the first half.
Despite the pressure, the Gaels couldn't find the back of the net and the game would end with the lone goal for USF to give them their tenth win of the season. Saint Mary's fell to 2-7-6 overall and 2-4-2 in conference play.
The Gaels are testing USF's defenses early in this matchup 💪#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/USS1A9oeIG
— Saint Mary's Men's Soccer (@SMC_MSoccer) November 9, 2025
Saint Mary's continues to pressure San Francisco as we approach the midway point ‼️#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/gUaEKVKlOd
— Saint Mary's Men's Soccer (@SMC_MSoccer) November 9, 2025
LOOKING AHEAD
The Gaels 2025 campaign will come to an end next weekend as they host 8th ranked Portland on Senior Day in their season finale. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 PM and will be streamed on ESPN+. Tickets can be bought online smcgaels.com/tickets.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
Team Stats
SMC
USF
Goals
0
1
Shots
13
21
Shots on Goal
3
6
Saves
4
3
Corners
6
10
Fouls
13
10
Scoring Plays
Ben Norris (2)
Assisted By: Jhared Willcot
GOAL by USF Norris, Ben Assist by Willcot, Jhared.
20:18
Game Leaders
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
def
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's SoccerGK
/ Men's SoccerD
/ Men's SoccerMF
/ Men's SoccerMSOC | Saint Mary's vs. LMU Game Highlights
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MSOC | Game Highlights vs. Santa Clara
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MSOC | Bentley PK save and Toelhoej penalty goal, 1-1 draw vs. Seattle U
Saturday, September 27
MSOC | Saint Mary's vs. UC Davis Game Highlights
Thursday, September 04
