No. 3 St. Thomas Sneaks Past Stags

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Facing a team fresh off a trip to the Final Four is always a tough task, but the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's soccer team (0-2-0) was up to the challenge. The Stags battled with No. 3 University of St. Thomas (2-0-0) on Sunday afternoon, but fell 1-0.

St. Thomas' Justin Oliver scored his second goal of the young season in the 34th minute for the only tally of the afternoon for either side.

Daniel Cui (CMC) made five saves while Cole Smith (CMC) and Justin Gadalla (HMC) recorded shots for the Stags. 

The Tommies tried to get their offense going early in the game as they advanced the ball to the box in the 12th minute. Jacob Makela took a shot at goal, but his attempt was well handled by Cui. Later in the 19th minute, the Stags thought to have found an opening past the Tommies' defense, but were called offside, negating their chance.

More than 10 minutes later, Smith attempted the Stags' first shot of the game, but the ball was well-saved by the goalie, Aidan Hogan. Later in the 34th minute, Justin Oliver dribbled into the left side of the Stags' box and angled his shot in the right side of the net to put the Tommies up 1-0.

With time winding down in the first half, Gadalla tried to level the game in the final minutes, but Hogan was able to secure the ball off the shot.

St. Thomas tightened up on the defensive end in the second half, preventing the Stags from taking a shot. The Tommies did not generate much activity on the offensive end, focusing on maintaining possession and containing the Stags' offense.

CMS changed their approach in the end of the second half, playing more aggressively and bringing in more attack-minded personnel on the field. The Stags were able to generate two consecutive corner kicks in the last 10 minutes, but they struggled to create from their limited chances as the Tommies locked up the game.

The Stags will return home on Wednesday, September 6 to host University of La Verne for their SCIAC opener at 7 p.m.