MORAGA, Calif. -- A trio of second half goals helped the Saint Mary's men's soccer team overcome a halftime deficit to earn a hard-fought 3-1 victory over previously undefeated Central Arkansas Friday afternoon at sun drenched Garaventa Soccer Field.
SMC improved to 2-2 on the season, while the Bears dropped their first result of the year to fall to 2-1.
The Gaels return to action Sunday with a 12 Noon (Pacific) match against 24th ranked Florida Gulf Coast University on Garaventa Soccer Field. Admission to the match is free and live statistical coverage will be available on SMCGaels.com.
After dropping behind early when the Bears' Manuel Montal scored a 9th minute goal following a poor corner kick clearance, the SMC defense limited Central Arkansas to just six more shots in the final 81 minutes. The Gaels ultimately outshot UCA 14-7 overall.
"No matter what, we want to win at home so it was a good way to start out our home schedule," said SMC head coach Adam Cooper. "Our guys showed some character, after being down 1-0, to come back and get the win. All-in-all, the team found a way to get it done and we came away with the win."
Down 1-0 at halftime, the Gaels got a break in the 71st minute when a Bear defender committed a foul in the 18-yard box and SMC was awarded a penalty. Senior Michael Semenza converted the penalty to tie the game at a goal apiece.
After Montal earned a straight red card on a two-footed tackle in the 74th minute, the Gaels pushed forward in search of the go-ahead score. The Bears didn't help their cause in the 79th minute when Logan Miller earned the team's second red card after reacting to a yellow card foul by SMC's Cory Schmidt.
In the 83rd minute, freshman Nicolas Gamp scored his first collegiate goal when Gerardo Mendoza weaved down the left side and sent a cross into the box. Gamp gathered the cross and placed a hard shot into the top right corner of the goal to give SMC a 2-1 lead.
Freshman Nathan Grixti gave the Gaels a bit of a cushion with his first collegiate goal in only his second career appearance. The San Ramon, Calif. native followed a hard shot by Michael Semenza that forced a nice save by UCA keeper Harrison Veith with a one-time folllow-up to provide the final 3-1 margin of victory.
The game also marked the return of senior Emmanuel Sarabia. The Truckee native entered the game at the forward position in the 39th minute and ended up playing 20 meaningful minutes in the match. It was his first game action since the 2011 season, after which he was diagnosed with leukemia.
"I am beyond ecstatic that Morro was able to get back on the field," said Cooper. "Even though I wasn't thrilled about how the game was going in the first half, I got choked up when he got in the game. Just to get him on the field was such an inspirational experience.
