MSOC | Gaels Tally Season High 27 Shots but Fall to Pacific 2-1 in Intense WCC Affair

Saturday, October 10

Moraga, CA

1:00 PM

Saint Mary's College of California

2-7-4, 0-3-1

Pacific

3-7-3, 2-0-1

Team	1	2	Final F
Pacific	2	0	2
Saint Mary's (CA)	0	1	1

Highlights

#23 Luke Schaefer: 3 SH, 1 SOG, 66 MP vs. Pacific

Photo by: Varun Aravind (@vflicks04)

MSOC | Gaels Tally Season High 27 Shots but Fall to Pacific 2-1 in Intense WCC Affair

10/10/2026 5:12:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's men's soccer team fell 2-1 to Pacific in a heated West Coast Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon. Saint Mary's (2-7-4, 0-3-1) nearly had the opening goal in the second minute with a one-on-one opportunity, but Pacific (3-7-3, 2-0-1) answered with two first half goals to take a 2-0 lead at the break. The Gaels battled back though, outshooting the Tigers 27-8 on the afternoon. Rafael Suarez found the back of the net for his second goal of the season in the 62nd minute but Pacific was able to hang on to its one-goal advantage for its third win of the season and second of conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Gaels got off to a quick start with several dangerous chances over the first 15 minutes. Cameron Kobey has been the team's most dangerous player all season long and nearly found his sixth goal of the season just two minutes into the match. Ryan Firestone played Kobey in over the top and Kobey found himself behind the Tigers backline and one-on-one with keeper Alejandro Caracheo Luna. Kobey went for the near post attempt but saw his shot saved off the foot of Luna to keep the game scoreless.

Later in the half, Pacific would catch Saint Mary's in transition and find the back of the net in the 20th minute to take a 1-0 lead. That lead would double just ten minutes later with a penalty kick effort from Josephat Yangyuoru who was taken down in the box in the 29th minute. Yangyuoru converted the PK high and down the middle for his third goal of the season. Despite being outshot 12-4 in the half, Pacific found themselves up 2-0 at the break.

The second half was all Gaels, as they generated another 15 shot attempts to force a combined seven saves from the Tigers defense. In the 54th minute, freshman Carl Emil Lauridsen saw a right-footed effort turned away from Luna off an ensuing corner kick. In the 71st minute, Lauridsen saw another near-post flick nearly find the back of the net but clank off the top of the cross bar. The Denmark native finished with a season high four shot attempts over his 90 minutes of action. Saint Mary's finally broke through in the 62nd minute to cut its deficit in half. Firestone had an initial shot attempt blocked off of a dangerous free kick opportunity just outside the box. The loose ball would find the feet of Suarez who side-stepped a Tiger defender and fired a left-footed shot into the roof of the net for his second of the season.

Chances kept coming for the Gaels as, they recorded four more shot attempts over the final 15 minutes, but Pacific managed to see the game out and hang on for the 2-1 victory. Saint Mary's and Pacific have been a part of some heated matches over recent years with, Saturday's match following that trend yet again. Both teams combined for eleven cards over the 90 minutes as well as a red card given to Pacific's head coach, Andres Ochoa, in the 85th minute.

GAME NOTES

Suarez scored his second goal of the season and his career with a left-footed shot in the 62nd minute
Nine Gaels recorded at least two shot attempts in the match
Freshman forward Alex Bandrauk played an effective 22 minutes off the bench, recording a season high three shots
Sam Bentley added to his season save total with five more in the match, leading the team with 28 saves
Six different starters played all 90 minutes for the Gaels including freshman center back Eemil Laamanen who leads the team with 1,161 minutes this season
Ryan Firestone returned to the starting lineup for the first time since September 10 and had two shots and numerous dangerous crosses over his 90 minutes played
Saint Mary's recorded a season high 27 shots, the most shots in a single-match since recording 27 in a 4-0 win over Sacramento State back in 2019

LOOKING AHEAD

Saint Mary's will take a break from WCC action this Wednesday with its final non-conference match of the season against Cal at 3:30 p.m in Berkeley. They will then head to the South Bay to take on Santa Clara Saturday night at 7 p.m.

Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.

#GaelsRise