Saint Mary's Defeats CSUN 3-1

MORAGA, Calif.---Saint Mary's defeated CSUN 3-1 in the final non-conference men's soccer match of 2021 for the Matadors Friday afternoon.

Khalid Hunter gave the Matadors the lead in the fourth minute. Jamar Ricketts dribbled the ball deep into the Gaels' offensive end and found Hunter in front. Hunter, normally, a right-footed attacker, took his shot from with his left and connected into the top right portion of the goal. Ricketts nearly found Hunter again in the 10th minute. Ricketts sent a ball across the SMC net which Hunter put towards the goal but went wide.

Saint Mary's (6-3) tied the goal in the 20th minute. Jan Marpe took a deflection off a teammate and scored from just inside the 18-yard mark. Saint Mary's took the lead at the 28:28 mark. The Matadors were whistled for a foul inside the goalkeeper's box which resulted in a penalty kick being awarded.

Sebastian Schacht converted the PK attempt for the advantage. Saint Mary's scored again 1:24 later. Schacht' attempt was saved by David Preys, but the rebound came back out to David Brog who put the ball back through the low center of the CSUN net. The Matadors steadied themselves and mounted an offensive rush that resulted in an Ethan Benham attempt blocked in front of the Gaels' goal.

With seven minutes to go in the half, David Preys challenged a Jack Vestberg attack and was able to kick the ball away. Four minutes later, a CSUN charge saw Michael Arrington make a shot attempt that was saved by Keith Oladapso. The rebound came back out front to Thomas Mascaro who was turned back by Oladapso.

Saint Mary's recorded the first three shot attempts of the second half (in the 53rd, 55th, and 57th minutes). Three Gaels' shots over a minute-span in the 65th and 66th minutes was capped off by a Riley Lynch effort that was saved by Preys. The Matadors responded on their ensuing possession. Ricketts went low and to the left and saw his ball saved out of bounds by Nicholas Lapinid, who entered the game in goal at halftime. The CSUN corner kick resulted in an Oscar Cardenas attempt which was saved by Lapinid.

The clubs exchanged shot attempts in the 74th minute. Saint Mary's Gael Quintero missed high and to the left with just over seven minutes to play. Edson Palos went off the right post for the Matadors at the 84:19 mark. Preys made his fourth and final save of the match when he caught Schacht's ball with 36 seconds remaining.

The Gaels outshot the Matadors 15-10, 7-5 on goal. Saint Mary's held a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks. The SMC goalies each made two saves.

"Everything we did today was in preparation for the Big West season that is going to get underway on Wednesday," said CSUN head coach Terry Davila.

CSUN (1-8) opens Big West Conference play Wednesday night when the Matadors host CSU Bakersfield (1-5-1). Coverage on ESPN+ with Ghizal Hasan begins at 7 p.m. There will be audio coverage featuring Alex Naveja at GoMatadors.com/Radio.

NOTES
Dylan Gonzalez, Omar Grey and Kris Fourcand all returned to the CSUN lineup after injuries…It was Grey's first appearance since the second match of the season…Fourcand and Gonzalez played their first minutes since the opener against San Diego State…this was the ninth all-time meeting between CSUN and Saint Mary's, the first for the clubs in Moraga since 2015…CSUN leads the all-time series 5-4…the Matadors debuted the program's red jerseys against the Gaels, CSUN has four jersey tops at its deposal (red, white, black, and grey).

~#UniteTheValley~

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Team Stats

Khalid Hunter

Jamar Ricketts

Ethan Benham

Oscar Cardenas

Players Mentioned

Michael Arrington

Ethan Benham

Oscar Cardenas

Kris Fourcand

Dylan Gonzalez

Omar Grey

Khalid Hunter

Thomas Mascaro

Edson Palos

David Preys

Jamar Ricketts