Saint Mary’s Men’s soccer’s post season run came to an end this Saturday against top ranked North Carolina.
The Gaels had to travel 2,800 miles to face the Tar Heels. North Carolina was riding a 25 game win streak at their own field, while the Gaels were riding a streak of their own: 8 consecutive 1 goal games.
To make it to this game, SMC had to put together a huge November run to win their division. In late October, the Gaels held a mediocre 4-4-5 record. The Gales ended up shutting out Loyola Marymount and San Diego to win their first West Coast Conference championship. Their WCC title is what earned them a bid in the NCAA tournament.
The two teams seemed to be evenly matched in the first half. Saint Mary’s played slow on offense, but their defense held off the relentless Tar Heel attack well throughout the half.
In the second half, it was all North Carolina. They struck in the 53rd minute, with a header off a corner kick by Matt Hedges. Twelve minutes later, North Carolina scored again, this time from Ben Speas. The game ended shortly thereafter, and so did SMC’s hopes of making it to the College Cup.
