Aug. 31, 2007

Box Score

Davidson, NC - A pair of second-half goals lifted the visiting Saint Mary's men's soccer team to a 2-0 blanking of host Davidson in the opening round of the adidas Classic at Alumni Stadium Friday evening in front of 831 fans. The Gaels begin the campaign 1-0, while the Wildcats open the 2007 slate 0-1. Justin Kim assisted both SMC goals and Bryan VanDoornick scored the game-winning goal and Erik Rivas added another.

After a scoreless first half in which the Gaels were outshot 6-3, Saint Mary's responded with a dominating second half, scoring twice in the final 45 minutes. Saint Mary's outshot the Wildcats 10-5 in the second half and edged out Davidson 13-11 for the game.

SMC's first goal came when Rivas headed a ball to Justin Kim at the top of the Davidson penalty box. Kim settled the ball and played a pass to Vandoornick who making a run through the Wildcat defense. Once VanDoornick cleared the defense, he had a 1-on-1 situation with Davidson goalkeeper Ben Ashton. Vandoornick chipped a shot over Ashton for the first goal of the game and the game-winning goal at the 68:03 mark.

Saint Mary's added another goal in the 82nd minute, this time it was the freshman forward Rivas who found the back of the net. Kim came down the right sideline and made a perfect pass across the front of the goal to Rivas. Rivas' spinning blast from just inside the box was inside the far post and into the upper right corner of the net.

Brian Mason added to his school record for shutouts. Mason, who record two saves against 11 total shots now has 14.5 shutouts in his career. Davidson's best chance to score came in the 31st minute on a free kick. Following a Saint Mary's foul just outside the box, Charlie Reiter touched the attempt to Robby Hoak, who had his right-footed blast punched over the cross bar by a diving Brian Mason.

With 30:40 left in the contest, the Wildcats had another scoring opportunity but were unable to capitalize. Davidson's Alex Caskey started the counter with a tackle that was tracked down just shy of midfield by Reiter, who played a ball down the right flank to Machel Turner, but his one-on-one attempt with the Gaels keeper missed wide.

Saint Mary's will return to action on Sunday when the Gaels take on UNC-Charlotte in the final game of the adidas Classic. The game between the Saint Mary's and the 49ers will kick-off at 2 p.m. Eastern Time at Alumni Stadium.