#4 Surafel Abebe and teammates in post-training huddle
MSOC | Anticipation Builds; Gaels Wrap-up Final Week of Preseason Training
8/14/2026 5:06:00 PM | Men's Soccer
MORAGA, Calif. - The Saint Mary's men's soccer team has been on campus for just over two weeks and wrapped up its final week of preseason training Friday morning. The Gaels drew with Cal in their first exhibition last week and will host Cal State East Bay on Sunday for their final tune-up before their season opener at Wisconsin on August 20.
Head coach Adam Cooper enters his 21st season in Moraga and will be accompanied by returning assistant coaches Shawn Nicklaw and Remi Prieur along with first year assistant Irving Ventura. Ventura has coached all over the Bay Area including a head coaching stint at College of Marin and was also a collegiate standout for WCC rival San Francisco from 2013-2014.
The 2026 roster features 12 returners and 20 newcomers including 2025 All-WCC Honorable Mention selection Sam Bentley. Bentley has been a two-year starter in goal for the Gaels with 29 games played and nearly 100 career saves over his two seasons. Additional key returners for Saint Mary's includes three-year veteran Surafel Abebe, second-year standout midfielders Jaydon Whittaker and Cameron Kobey. Kobey finished with a goal and an assist last season and was recently named to Top Drawer's WCC Preseason Watch List.
A new and youthful group allows for intense competition in training. In the Gaels' exhibition against Cal last week, newcomers like Talan Rochelle, Luke Schaefer and Ryan Firestone all broke into the starting lineup with meaningful minutes. Rochelle and Firestone joined the program as conference transfers from Gonzaga and San Francisco, while Schafer came over as a graduate transfer from Cal Poly for his final season of collegiate soccer. Freshman center back Eemil Laamanen also had a nice impact over his 42 minutes, getting credit for an assist on the equalizer in the 59th minute. Saint Mary's matched Cal with eleven shots on the afternoon, going toe-to-toe with a Golden Bears program that won eight games in 2025 and narrowly missed out on an at-large bid after falling in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.
Saint Mary's will wrap-up its preseason slate with a home exhibition against Cal State East Bay on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. before prepping for a big time road trip with matchups against Wisconsin and Marquette for the opening weekend of the 2026 season.
The full 2026 schedule can be found HERE and season tickets can be bought online at 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
Head coach Adam Cooper enters his 21st season in Moraga and will be accompanied by returning assistant coaches Shawn Nicklaw and Remi Prieur along with first year assistant Irving Ventura. Ventura has coached all over the Bay Area including a head coaching stint at College of Marin and was also a collegiate standout for WCC rival San Francisco from 2013-2014.
The 2026 roster features 12 returners and 20 newcomers including 2025 All-WCC Honorable Mention selection Sam Bentley. Bentley has been a two-year starter in goal for the Gaels with 29 games played and nearly 100 career saves over his two seasons. Additional key returners for Saint Mary's includes three-year veteran Surafel Abebe, second-year standout midfielders Jaydon Whittaker and Cameron Kobey. Kobey finished with a goal and an assist last season and was recently named to Top Drawer's WCC Preseason Watch List.
A new and youthful group allows for intense competition in training. In the Gaels' exhibition against Cal last week, newcomers like Talan Rochelle, Luke Schaefer and Ryan Firestone all broke into the starting lineup with meaningful minutes. Rochelle and Firestone joined the program as conference transfers from Gonzaga and San Francisco, while Schafer came over as a graduate transfer from Cal Poly for his final season of collegiate soccer. Freshman center back Eemil Laamanen also had a nice impact over his 42 minutes, getting credit for an assist on the equalizer in the 59th minute. Saint Mary's matched Cal with eleven shots on the afternoon, going toe-to-toe with a Golden Bears program that won eight games in 2025 and narrowly missed out on an at-large bid after falling in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament.
Saint Mary's will wrap-up its preseason slate with a home exhibition against Cal State East Bay on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. before prepping for a big time road trip with matchups against Wisconsin and Marquette for the opening weekend of the 2026 season.
The full 2026 schedule can be found HERE and season tickets can be bought online at 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
Players Mentioned
MF
/ Men's SoccerGK
/ Men's SoccerD
/ Men's SoccerMF
/ Men's SoccerD
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's SoccerMF
/ Men's SoccerMonday, October 20
Thursday, October 16
Saturday, September 27
Thursday, September 04
