Saint Mary men lose to Santa Clara

Moraga, CA – The Saint Mary’s men’s soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision to Santa Clara on Sunday afternoon at Saint Mary’s Stadium.  The Gaels outshot the Broncos 16-11, but a Santa Clara goal in the 70th minute was enough to hand the Gaels the loss.

With the loss, Saint Mary’s falls to 6-4-1, 2-2-0 West Coast Conference, while Santa Clara improves to 5-4-3, 2-0-2 WCC.

“We didn’t show up to play today,” said head coach Adam Cooper.  “We were out-worked… Santa Clara had better focus and concentration, they deserved the win.”

The Gaels kept the pressure on in the first half, out-shooting SCU 7-3, including four shots on goal.  The first-half would end in a 0-0 tie.

Santa Clara’s Eric Masch scored the game’s first goal in the 57th minute as he dribbled past a Gael defender and put the shot into the upper right corner of the net to give SCU a 1-0 lead.

In the 63rd minute, a Bronco foul in the box allowed Saint Mary’s to attempt a penalty kick.  Dylan Leslie converted and tied the game at 1-1.  The goal was Leslie’s first of the season.

In the 70th minute, Santa Clara had a throw in from the sideline which was touched by SCU’s Mykell Bates and directed toward teammate Cal McKee who netted a shot from eight yards out.  The goal would result as the game-winning goal as the Gaels had some opportunities but could not force the game into overtime.

The Gaels held a 9-2 corner kick advantage while the Broncos committed 13 of the 22 fouls in the game.

Doug Herrick had a busy afternoon with six saves, while SCU keeper Kevin Klasila also tallied six saves.

Leslie took five shots to pace the Gaels, while Justin Grider took four shots.  Nathan Arambula attempted three shots, two on goal.

Saint Mary’s is back in action next week when it heads to the northwest.  The Gaels take on Portland at 5:00 p.m. on October 15 on the Pilot campus.  SMC takes on Gonzaga on October 17 in Spokane.