Moraga, CA – For the second consecutive game, the Saint Mary’s men’s soccer team scored in the final seconds of the second-half to capture the West Coast Conference victory.  Erik Rivas headed in a goal off a pass from Dylan Leslie with :19 remaining, giving the Gaels the win over USF and three points, which moves Saint Mary’s into second-place, just one point behind first-place Santa Clara.  The Gaels and Broncos have a showdown with first-place on the line on Friday at Buck Shaw Stadium.

With the win, Saint Mary’s improves to 10-5-1, 6-3-0 WCC, while San Francisco drops to 3-11-3, 1-7-2 WCC.

“I felt USF was the more aggressive team in the first-half,” said head coach Adam Cooper.  “We were better in the second-half, creating opportunities and adding pressure.

Saint Mary’s goalkeeper Doug Herrick recorded the shutout, his 14th of his career, breaking the school record of 13.5 held by Bryan Mason (2004-07).  The shutout was also Herrick’s seventh of the year, which leads the WCC and ties his own single-season SMC record set during the 2009 campaign.

“Congrats to Doug on the record... this is about the program as well because it takes a team effort to achieve this mark,” said Cooper.

The game-winner came during the final seconds once again for the Gaels.  Leslie dribbled down field and sent a pass into the box where Rivas was able to head in the game-winner from the box as the clock read :19 remained in regulation.

The goal was Rivas’ second consecutive game-winning goal, after delivering the game-winner on Sunday against Portland.

Leslie’s assist was his fourth of the season and third in the last three games after having two assists against Gonzaga on October 29.

The scoreless first-half was even across the board.  San Francisco held a 5-4 lead in shots, San Francisco held a 4-2 edge in corner kicks and the foul count was USF 6-5.

The Gaels put more pressure on the Dons in the second-half, outshooting the Dons 9-1, giving SMC a 13-6 edge in the game.

Rivas ended the match with a team-high six shots, two on goal.  Leslie had two shots, while Tom Mohoric and Agustin Cazarez had shots on goal.

San Francisco was paced by Marucio Diaz De Leon with two shots, while Samir Najmeh and Vinny Caloiaro each had shots on goal.

Herrick finished the shutout with two saves, while USF goalkeeper Brendan Roslund allowed one goal with three saves.

 
Saint Mary’s is back in action on Friday, November 5 when it takes on the first-place Broncos at 7:00 p.m. on the Santa Clara campus.