St. Mary's men defeat Gonzaga

Spokane, WA – The Saint Mary’s men’s soccer team put an end to its two-game skid by defeated Gonzaga by a 1-0 score on Sunday afternoon in Spokane, WA.  Conroy Cunningham, playing in just his third game of the year, sent a shot into the back of the net in the 88th minute for the game-winner.  Braden Hoyt got the start in goal for the Gaels and tallied the shutout, making five saves in his 90 minutes.

“Braden had a great game today and stepped up to make some big saves,” said head coach Adam Cooper.  “We played well today and Conroy’s goal was a scrappy goal and he got it in the net.”

With the win, Saint Mary’s improves to 7-5-1, 3-3-0 West Coast Conference, while Gonzaga drops to 4-9-0, 1-5-0 WCC.  The Gaels are now 10-11-3 all-time against the Bulldogs.

Cunningham’s game-winner came in the 88th minute, assisted by Erik Rivas.  Saint Mary’s had a flurry of shots as Patrick Watson had a shot blocked, followed by Rivas’ shot which was blocked.  That set up Cunningham’s shot into the net to give the Gaels the victory.

Gonzaga got a shot off in the 90th minute but James Partee’s shot sailed high and the Gaels were able to run out the clock.

Saint Mary’s took 15 shots in the game, compared to 13 shots by Gonzaga.  The Bulldogs took nine of their 13 shots in the second half.  SMC had the edge in corner kicks by a 4-2 margin and Gonzaga had nine fouls, compared to eight by the Gaels.

Justin Grider took a team-high four shots, while Agustin Cazarez took three shots, two on goal.  Watson and Rivas each attempted two shots.

In the 27th minute, Justin Grider fired a shot that was saved by the Gonzaga keeper chest high.  In the 39th minute, Joel Fumia took a shot from the deep left wing, just missing the far post as the attempt sailed wide.

Gonzaga goalie Ryan Caballero had four saves in 90 minutes.

Braden Hoyt made five saves for Saint Mary’s winning his first decision of the year.

Saint Mary’s is off next weekend and returns to the pitch on Friday, October 29 when it takes on Gonzaga.  The rematch is set for 3:00 p.m. at Saint Mary’s Stadium.

Saint Mary's (CA) (7-5-1, 3-3-0) vs.
GONZAGA BULLDOGS (4-9-0, 1-5-0)
Date: Oct 17, 2010 Attendance: 797
Weather: 52 degrees, sunny, wind calm

Goals by period               1      2      Total
Saint Mary's (CA)             0      1      1
GONZAGA BULLDOGS      0      0      0
SCORING SUMMARY
Goal      Time      Team      Goal Scorer      Assists      Description
1.      87:46      SMC       CUNNINGHAM, Conroy (1)      RIVAS, Erik      Rebound off blocked shot during flurry of shots in box

CAUTIONS AND EJECTIONS
GON       #14      EYSTEINSSON, Stefan       Yellow card      35:40
SMC       #2      NEWQUIST, Trevor       Yellow card      39:33
GON       #19      GARRE, Philippe       Yellow card      54:53

Officials: Referee: Shahin Torosian; Asst. Referee: Jason Damschen; Marcos Maldonado;
Offsides: Saint Mary's (CA) 0, GONZAGA BULLDOGS 3.