Saint Mary's Win At No. 4 Washington
SEATTLE, Wash. -- Freshman Antonio Lokossou scored the first goal of his Saint Mary's career today, sending a 94th minute shot past Washington keeper Spencer Richey to hand the Gaels a 2-1 overtime win over the fourth-ranked Huskies at Husky Soccer Field.
The victory is the Gaels' first-ever against a top 5 ranked opponent and the first over nationally ranked opposition since defeating 8th-ranked UC Irvine in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
Saint Mary's improves to 1-2-0 on the season and returns to Moraga for its home openers Friday and Sunday against Central Arkansas and Florida Gulf Coast. Washington falls to 1-1-0 and hosts Connecticut and Pennsylvania next weekend.
"That was a hard fought battle today between two determined teams," said SMC head coach Adam Cooper. "Last weekend, when we had some guys go down to injury, several of our guys didn't step up when they were called upon. This weekend, simply put, they did. Our guys had a team mentality today. They battled and fought and earned a very good result against a top 5 program."
After dropping a pair of games to open the season last weekend in upstate New York, Saint Mary's entered today's game with a number of injuries that impacted the team's gameplan and available personnel against the Huskies. Defensive starters Bobby Conner and Ben Braman were among several players that did not travel due to Seattle due to injury.
The makeshift SMC defense held its own throughout the first 45 minutes, despite a 12-4 edge in shots by UW. Keeper Andre Rawls registered four saves and the two teams entered halftime scoreless.
The Huskies got on the board first when Mason Robertson received a pass from Darwin Jones and scored in the 50th minute.
SMC responed 19 minutes later when senior Michael Semenza's cross from the left side connected with juniorJake Stenberg in the 69th minute for a one-time shot that tied the match at a goal apiece.
Both teams had chances to score over the final 20 minutes. But, with both teams' solid defending and a little help from the post on a Stenberg shot the two teams went into overtime tied at 1-1.
In the 94th minute Semenza delivered his second assist of the game, finding Lokossou for the match winner.
Statistically, Washington was credited with a 33-8 margin in overall shots but a closer 10-4 in attempts on frame. Rawls registered nine saves.
Friday's Saint Mary's match against Central Arkansas, as well as Sunday's against FGCU, will take place on Garaventa Soccer Field due to field renovations taking place in Saint Mary's Stadium. Admission is free and live statistical coverage will be provided on SMCGaels.com.
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