LACEY, Wash. – There was no shortage of drama and action in the Saints' match against CSU Dominguez Hills on Saturday. After 13 cards, including four reds, two on each side, it was an early goal by the Toros that sealed the 1-0 victory over Saint Martin's.
Both sides had opportunities to put multiple goals on the board; however, the only attempt that was converted was a breakaway goal from the Toros' Christian Djurasevic in the 15th minute.
Saint Martin's record nine shots, four of which landed on target.
Jose Marquez had both of his shots find the target, but was unable to punch it in for a goal.
Cole Mattson and
Brandon Madsen each recorded one shot on target; however, were also not able to find the equalizer.
"Dominguez Hills is a good team," said head coach
Rob Walker. "We were a little shaky in several pieces before giving up the lone goal in the game, but should some great improvement in several aspects of our overall team shape and our movement of the ball and players in possession. In the big picture, this will pay dividends down the road. What really matters though is that we get more quality on our entry balls and wide service when we are in the final third. Our mistakes in the back third and our front third today were the real difference. None-the-less, we liked the way we battled, adjusted to pressure and kept the ball moving. This will carry us a long way."
Dylan Shaw got the start and played all 90 minutes in goal for Saint Martin's, seeing 11 shots, making one save, and allowing the lone goal.
CSU Dominguez Hills snapped the Saints' streak of 10 straight unanswered goals entering the match. The loss marks the first of the season for Saint Martin's.
"The great thing about soccer is that from a player and coach perspective, there is always a lot to learn from," Walker said. "We will have a long look at the video from this game and definitely get in and tune up our game and since college is about learning, there are some great lessons to pull from today's game."
Saint Martin's travels for the first time in 2019 next week, heading to Academy of Art on September 19 and Stanislaus State on September 21. Live stats and video of the matches can be found on smusaints.com.
