Saturday, September 26
Denver, CO
6:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
at
Denver
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
WSOC | Conference Play Has Arrived, Gaels Take On Newest WCC Member Denver
9/24/2026 9:57:00 AM | Women's Soccer
MORAGA, Calif. - Saint Mary's women's soccer team will head to Denver, Colorado, for the first time since 2013 to take on the newest member of the West Coast Conference, the Denver Pioneers. The Gaels will bring their 16-game unbeaten streak to Colorado, the second-longest streak in the country, and lead the NCAA with eight shutouts this season. Saint Mary's currently ranks third-best in shutout percentage in the country and is in search of its first road victory over the Pioneers in program history.
GAME COVERAGE AND INFORMATION
WSOC | RV Saint Mary's at Denver | University of Denver Soccer Stadium
Denver, Colo. | September 26 | 6 p.m.
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets
GAELS OUTLOOK
Gaels Stay Unbeaten; Ranked No. 25 In Latest TDS Poll…
Saint Mary's continued its historic start to the 2026 campaign, drawing with No. 18 Utah State 1-1 at The Bell to bring its program-record unbeaten streak to 16 matches. An Ashlyn Vaughn penalty in the 37th minute broke the deadlock, as the Gaels nearly held on for the full 90 before allowing a penalty in the 89th minute to level the match. Vaughn scored the tenth goal of her career and seventh of the season, now tied for the WCC lead and ranks 19th in the country.
The defensive line for the Gaels remained strong, with all four backs playing the full 90, including a seventh consecutive match of 90 minutes for defender Anna Emperador, the most among any Gael this season. The Gaels allowed just their third goal of the season on Sunday and now have a Goals Against Average of just 0.30, good for sixth in the country while holding the third-best shutout percentage in the country at 0.800. The draw would secure the Gaels' first top-25 ranking of the season in the latest Top Drawer Soccer Poll, while they received votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll for the third time this season.
First RPI Ranking of the Season Released on Sept. 20; Gaels at No. 74…
Saint Mary's checked in at 74 in the season's first publicly released RPI rankings. The Gaels narrowly missed out on an at-large bid for a West Coast Conference that had received multiple bids for 33 consecutive seasons until last year. Saint Mary's started the 2025 conference schedule at 78 so in just a simple comparison, the Gaels are on track to put themselves in the at-large conversation again with a quality WCC performance. Notable non-conference results here in 2026 include ranked draws to No. 14 Georgetown and No. 18 Utah State as well as a road victory over Big Ten member USC back in late August. The Gaels lead the country with eight shutouts and are one of 17 teams remaining in the NCAA to have yet to suffer a loss this season.
WCC Top Four Chase Is On…
After a historic finish in 2025 in which the Gaels posted their highest WCC finish in program history, Saint Mary's looks to finish what they started against a formidable conference full of quality opponents. The West Coast Conference will begin its first year of tournament play for both Men's and Women's soccer, with the highest seed among the four qualifying teams set to host. The Gaels now head into WCC play looking to dethrone last year's champion Pepperdine, while searching for their first-ever WCC Championship and their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 25 years.
Heading into conference play as the 74th-ranked program in RPI, the Gaels will face only one top-100 RPI program, Santa Clara, on the road on October 24th. The Gaels will then battle Seattle U on Halloween in Moraga, as the Redhawks account for the Gaels' last loss on October 11 of last year. Rounding out the regular season, the Gaels will host last year's champion Pepperdine on November 7, a Senior Day matchup that could very well decide the regular season title.
Series History…
Ahead of their first-ever WCC matchup, the Gaels and Pioneers have previously met on four occasions, with their most recent matchup coming in 2013 when the Gaels fell to the Pioneers 2-0 in Denver. The Gaels are 1-3 all-time against the Pioneers, with their only victory coming in 1999 in Moraga in a 1-0 win in double overtime thanks to a late goal from Stacey Shaw. The Gaels come into Denver in search of their first-ever road win over the Pioneers.
ABOUT THE PIONEERS (1-5-2, 0-0-0 WCC)
After leaving the Summit League and winning seven of the previous ten regular-season championships, the Denver Pioneers join the West Coast Conference in search of their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2020. The Pioneers were picked to finish seventh in the WCC and are led by head coach Julianne Sitch, who enters her fourth season at the helm. Sitch brings a championship pedigree to Denver after leading the University of Chicago Men's Soccer program to its first-ever NCAA Division III National Championship and a 22-0-1 season in 2022.
The Pioneers are led by senior midfielder Kera Nguyen, who has scored three of the five goals for Denver this season after recording just one goal in twenty-one matches played for the Pioneers coming into the season. With just one win on the season, Denver will look for its first victory since September 6 when they defeated Montana 2-0.
The Gaels are currently one of fourteen unbeaten teams in the country and are in search of their first victory over the Pioneers as West Coast Conference members.
Kick off for Saturday's match is slated for 6 p.m. PST. The match can be streamed live on ESPN+, and tickets can be purchased HERE.
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
GAME COVERAGE AND INFORMATION
WSOC | RV Saint Mary's at Denver | University of Denver Soccer Stadium
Denver, Colo. | September 26 | 6 p.m.
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets
GAELS OUTLOOK
Gaels Stay Unbeaten; Ranked No. 25 In Latest TDS Poll…
Saint Mary's continued its historic start to the 2026 campaign, drawing with No. 18 Utah State 1-1 at The Bell to bring its program-record unbeaten streak to 16 matches. An Ashlyn Vaughn penalty in the 37th minute broke the deadlock, as the Gaels nearly held on for the full 90 before allowing a penalty in the 89th minute to level the match. Vaughn scored the tenth goal of her career and seventh of the season, now tied for the WCC lead and ranks 19th in the country.
The defensive line for the Gaels remained strong, with all four backs playing the full 90, including a seventh consecutive match of 90 minutes for defender Anna Emperador, the most among any Gael this season. The Gaels allowed just their third goal of the season on Sunday and now have a Goals Against Average of just 0.30, good for sixth in the country while holding the third-best shutout percentage in the country at 0.800. The draw would secure the Gaels' first top-25 ranking of the season in the latest Top Drawer Soccer Poll, while they received votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll for the third time this season.
First RPI Ranking of the Season Released on Sept. 20; Gaels at No. 74…
Saint Mary's checked in at 74 in the season's first publicly released RPI rankings. The Gaels narrowly missed out on an at-large bid for a West Coast Conference that had received multiple bids for 33 consecutive seasons until last year. Saint Mary's started the 2025 conference schedule at 78 so in just a simple comparison, the Gaels are on track to put themselves in the at-large conversation again with a quality WCC performance. Notable non-conference results here in 2026 include ranked draws to No. 14 Georgetown and No. 18 Utah State as well as a road victory over Big Ten member USC back in late August. The Gaels lead the country with eight shutouts and are one of 17 teams remaining in the NCAA to have yet to suffer a loss this season.
WCC Top Four Chase Is On…
After a historic finish in 2025 in which the Gaels posted their highest WCC finish in program history, Saint Mary's looks to finish what they started against a formidable conference full of quality opponents. The West Coast Conference will begin its first year of tournament play for both Men's and Women's soccer, with the highest seed among the four qualifying teams set to host. The Gaels now head into WCC play looking to dethrone last year's champion Pepperdine, while searching for their first-ever WCC Championship and their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 25 years.
Heading into conference play as the 74th-ranked program in RPI, the Gaels will face only one top-100 RPI program, Santa Clara, on the road on October 24th. The Gaels will then battle Seattle U on Halloween in Moraga, as the Redhawks account for the Gaels' last loss on October 11 of last year. Rounding out the regular season, the Gaels will host last year's champion Pepperdine on November 7, a Senior Day matchup that could very well decide the regular season title.
Series History…
Ahead of their first-ever WCC matchup, the Gaels and Pioneers have previously met on four occasions, with their most recent matchup coming in 2013 when the Gaels fell to the Pioneers 2-0 in Denver. The Gaels are 1-3 all-time against the Pioneers, with their only victory coming in 1999 in Moraga in a 1-0 win in double overtime thanks to a late goal from Stacey Shaw. The Gaels come into Denver in search of their first-ever road win over the Pioneers.
ABOUT THE PIONEERS (1-5-2, 0-0-0 WCC)
After leaving the Summit League and winning seven of the previous ten regular-season championships, the Denver Pioneers join the West Coast Conference in search of their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2020. The Pioneers were picked to finish seventh in the WCC and are led by head coach Julianne Sitch, who enters her fourth season at the helm. Sitch brings a championship pedigree to Denver after leading the University of Chicago Men's Soccer program to its first-ever NCAA Division III National Championship and a 22-0-1 season in 2022.
The Pioneers are led by senior midfielder Kera Nguyen, who has scored three of the five goals for Denver this season after recording just one goal in twenty-one matches played for the Pioneers coming into the season. With just one win on the season, Denver will look for its first victory since September 6 when they defeated Montana 2-0.
The Gaels are currently one of fourteen unbeaten teams in the country and are in search of their first victory over the Pioneers as West Coast Conference members.
Kick off for Saturday's match is slated for 6 p.m. PST. The match can be streamed live on ESPN+, and tickets can be purchased HERE.
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
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/ Women's SoccerF
/ Women's SoccerSunday, September 20
Sunday, September 13
Thursday, September 10
Sunday, September 06
