DAVIS, Calif. — The Gaels went down to Davis and dominated under the lights to come away with their third straight victory and improve to 3-1-1 on the season. Defensively, Saint Mary's continued to be solid throughout the full 90 minutes, holding the Aggies to just four shots and three corner kicks.
After continuous pressure, senior forward
Briana Salvetti found the back of the net in the 61st minute, scoring her second goal of the season and the sixteenth of her career.
Kate Plachy also earned her third shutout of the season as she pushes deeper into the program's top-ten for career shutouts now with nine over her two seasons.
The Gaels will look to make it four straight Sunday afternoon as they host Hawaii to conclude their two-game week.
FIRST HALF SMC 0 - 0 UC DAVIS
Saint Mary's dictated the game from the start, tallying twelve shots over the first 45 minutes. Salvetti led the attack with three shot attempts, while freshman
Ashlyn Vaughn, and juniors
Sydney Middaugh and
Molly Silva each added two. These efforts, paired with the Gaels strong defense, kept the Aggies on their toes and set the tone for the eventual breakthrough in the second half.
FINAL SMC 1 - 0 UC DAVIS
The difference would come in the 61st minute when
Isabel Lendman delivered a cross into the six-yard box where Salvetti fought through two defenders to head the ball into the right corner of the net to give the Gaels the one-goal lead.
Salvetti was all over the pitch Thursday night, finishing with her second goal of the season and four shots in her 56 minutes off the bench. UC Davis nearly found a last second equalizer off of a corner kick but the attempt came just seconds after the final buzzer, sealing the shutout for Saint Mary's. The Gaels backline played all 90 minutes as well as senior captain
Savannah Schwarze in the team's midfield. Junior forward
Isabel Lendman also came off the bench in just her second match of the season and recorded an assist in her 49 minutes of action.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Gaels will return to Moraga on Sunday, September 7th, looking to extend their win streak to four games as they play host to another Big West program in Hawaii. Kickoff is slated for 12:00 PM and tickets can be bought online at smcgaels.com/tickets.
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