MORAGA, Calif. - Saint Mary's ended their six-game streak of scoring first on Saturday afternoon but were able to come behind late thanks to a VAR penalty decision in the 86th minute. Senior captain
Bastian Toelhoej stepped up and buried the penalty for his third goal of the season to help earn a point for the Gaels in their conference opener.
R would come into play late in the second half with two handballs being overturned and penalties awarded, one for Seattle U and one for Saint Mary's. Sophomore goalkeeper
Sam Bentley would prove to be the difference between the two penalty attempts as Bentley saved his in the 84th minute, just two minutes before Toelhoej would convert his to make it 1-1.
Despite giving up a goal just 48 seconds into the match, the Gaels looked dangerous offensively. They outshot the Redhawks 14-13 over the 90 minutes and were the better team in the second half. They are now 0-3-5 on the season and have earned a point in each of their last three matches.
FIRST HALF SMC 0-1 SU
Seattle U started their tenure in the WCC with a bang, scoring a stellar transition goal just 48 seconds into the match to go up 1-0. Despite surrendering the early goal, the Gaels did a great job of settling in and applying some pressure offensively in the following minutes.
They ended the half with six shots and had quality spells of pressure in the Redhawks defensive third. Saint Mary's only forced one save over the first 45 minutes but went into the half with some good confidence and momentum in efforts to tie things up in the second half.
FINAL SMC 1-1 SU
The start of the second half was all Saint Mary's as they generated four shot attempts over the opening ten minutes, forcing a pair of saves from the Redhawks keeper. Starting the half for the Gaels,
Adam Dring,
Kayvon Monfared and
Henry Beatty helped combine for some quality moments in front of goal. Beatty got on the end of some header chances inside the penalty box before departing after a successful 23-minute spell off the bench.
The Gaels were knocking on the door all half long but their momentum would come to a halt after a VAR review on a handball awarded a penalty kick for Seattle U in the 84th minute. The Redhawks would have a chance to ice the victory with a second goal but
Sam Bentley would dive to his right to make the stop and maintain the one-goal deficit.
Bentley finished the match with three saves and that one coming as the biggest one of the match for the Gaels. In dramatic fashion just two minutes later, Saint Mary's would develop a nice transition moment and have a shot attempt inside the box go off the arm of a Seattle U defender. The center ref would go to VAR for a second time and also award a penalty kick, now for Saint Mary's.
There was no doubt of who was going to take the penalty as senior captain
Bastian Toelhoej stepped up to the spot. Toelhoej would opt for power and a low shot slightly down the middle that would beat the keeper and tie the game at one. The goal would go down as his fourth of the season and he is now 6-for-6 on penalty kicks dating back to last season.
Saint Mary's would hang on for the final four minutes to earn a come-from-behind draw to kickoff conference play. Defenders
Hubert Deragon and
Fynn Allmon would play all 90 minutes in the backline while
Bastian Toelhoej,
Cesar Batres and
Jona Starek played the full 90 in the Gaels midfield.
Saint Mary's generated eight second half shots with four of them on goal as they looked to be the better team over the final 45 minutes. They have yet to put a tally in the win column this season but add another hard fought tie to start conference play 0-0-1.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's improved to 0-3-5 overall and 0-0-1 in conference play with their 1-1 draw against Seattle U. They will hit the road next week to face off against Oregon State in week two of conference play. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 PM on Saturday, October 4th and the match can be streamed live on ESPN+.
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