SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Despite setting scoring records last season and being the primary target defenses are forced to shut down, Brandon Madsen continues to score goals. However, his PK goal in the 76th was not enough in the 2-1 road loss to Cal State San Marcos on Saturday.
 
The Cougars (4-0-0) continued their perfect run of the 2018 season by scoring in the 33rd and a critical goal in the 76th minute to hold off the Saints' (1-3-0) comeback efforts. Madsen has accounted for all three of the Saints' goals this season, and Griffin Small finished with two saves.
 
In the first half, CSU San Marcos recorded five shots, two of which landed on goal, but the Saints' defense was able to make the save. However, the sixth shot proved to fatal, coming in the 33rd minute, and gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead. The Saints' offense struggled to find it's grove in the first half, recording only shot.
 
In the second half, the Saints went on the offensive, looking to tie the match, recording 10 shots in the second half. CSU San Marcos managed to hold off most of the Saints' pressure and even flipped the momentum, scoring a critical goal in the 69th minute to extend the lead to 2-0. The second goal proved its' value in the 76th minute, when leading scorer Madsen was fouled in the box. Madsen connected for his second penalty kick and three goal of the season to pull the score to within one. CSU San Marcos managed to secure the victory in the final minutes of the match, defeating SMU 2-1.

"We came in slow in the first half but after some tweaks and fixes to our system, we showed the heart and passion this team has," said Sebastian Navarro. "This was a disappointing result but there's a lot of positives to take from it and we're ready to keep getting better each day."

"The passion our team showed in the second half was outstanding," said Collin LaBranche. "We came out flying and team never gave up."  
 
Alexis Lopez led the team with four shots, two of which landed on target, with Madsen taking two and five different Saints adding one each. Small faced 12 shots on the day, making four saves and allowed two goals.
 
The Saints travel to UC San Diego for their final match of their weeklong trip in California. Live stats and video of match will be available with links on smusaints.com.