2008 Woodie Awards
Men's soccer sweeps before WCC play
Gaels on three game winning streak going into conference play
Zack Farmer
Issue date: 9/25/07 Section: Sports
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In a fairly quiet opening game, the Gaels took a game on the road from Sacramento State 1-0.
The only goal scored was by senior David Blanchard in the 76th minute off of a free kick by sophomore Dylan Leslie.
Senior Brian Mason held strong for the 1-0 shutout. He collected one save on the day and his second shutout of the season. Both sides were only able to produce five shots during the game.
Heading home, Saint Mary's had broken the .500 barrier and looked to add against San Jose State.
The Gaels struck early against San Jose State as they scored in the 18th minute when freshman Brian VanDoorninck took a pass from Blanchard and junior Justin Kim for the five yard punch-in.
Spartan goalkeeper Richard Mann bobbled a Blanchard shot and nearly gave it up to another Saint Mary's player for a goal.
San Jose State kept the pressure on as the Gaels used backup goalkeeper Keenan Flynn '10 in place of the injured Brian Mason '08.
Flynn picked up two saves while the Spartans took eight shots in the half.
Early in the second half, the whistles started blazing. Within the first 15 minutes of the second half, the Gaels picked up three yellow cards, one of which handed out to VanDoorninck for unsportsmanlike conduct toward an official.
VanDoorninck was set off by a no-call by an official when Leslie ran into an opponent and fell, favoring one knee.
Leslie returned to the game 10 minutes later.
Late in the second half, Saint Mary's recieved another opportunity to score. This time senior Erik Robert set up Blanchard for the header into the near post for the goal.
With the Gaels leading 2-0, the Spartans became very physical and put the pressure back on Saint Mary's. In the 79th minute, San Jose State's Julio Gonzalez recieved a pass from Ricky Dorrego and dumped the ball over Flynn from 16 yards out.
That would be the closest the Spartans got in the game. Flynn finished the game with four saves on five tries.
With the wins over the weekend, the Gaels are now 4-2-0 going into an off week. After their week break, they will return to work facing Gonzaga on October 5 at Saint Mary's Stadium.