SAN DIEGO — No. 21 San Diego men's soccer (7-1-2, 1-0-0 WCC) turned in a dominant performance on Saturday night in its West Coast Conference opener against Saint Mary's (1-5-3, 0-1-0 WCC), beating the Gaels by a 4-2 margin at Torero Stadium behind goals from
Ethan Warne,
Samy Kanaan,
Cesar Bahena and
Steven Ramirez.
The Toreros jumped ahead early in the first half with goals from Warne and Kanaan, finishing the first half with a 2-1 lead before immediately continuing their momentum in the second half with goals from Bahena and Ramirez.
The Torero back-line continued to be sharp, allowing seven total shots with just four on target, while goalkeeper Donovan Parisian ended the night with a two solid saves.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Saturday night's contest started off slow, until Josh Martinez connected with Trevor Dillon from a corner kick in the 21st minute for a header that was saved by the Gaels' keeper, but a rebound fell straight to Warne who smashed it into the top of the net to give San Diego an early 1-0 lead.
- After the opening goal the Toreros wasted little time finding a second, as Luca Fava dished a driven pass across the six-yard box to find a wide open Kanaan who slotted it first touch into the top corner to extend his team's lead to 2-0 in the 28th minute.
- The Gaels converted a penalty kick in the 40th minute to make the score 2-1 heading into halftime.
- A magnificent through-ball all the way from the opposite end of the field from Parisian gave Ramirez an open net for an easy goal to reclaim the two-goal lead for San Diego at 3-1 in the 58th minute.
- The Toreros struck once more in the 70th minute when Oliver Rhoades played a perfect through-ball to Bahena who cut to his right foot and curled a shot towards the bottom right corner of the goal to give USD its fourth goal of the night.
- Saint Mary's found the back of the net late in the 77th minute to make it 4-2, but got no closer.
TORERO TIDBITS
- Preseason All-WCC defender Trevor Dillon made his 2024 debut on Saturday night, as he started the game at center back wearing the captain's armband.
- Warne's 21st minute goal was his first of 2024.
- Kanaan earned his sixth goal of the season while Bahena scored his fifth.
- Ramirez's 58th minute goal was his second of the season, and was assisted by the Torero goalkeeper Parisian.
- Dillon, Rhoades, Parisian, Fava, and Owen Walz each earned assists in Saturday evening's victory.
- As a team, San Diego gathered 27 total shots with 10 on goal, compared to Saint Mary's seven total shots with four on goal.
CATCHING UP WITH THE TOREROS
UP NEXT
The Toreros will continue West Coast Conference play on the road this Friday when they take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Kick off at Luger Field is set for 6:00 p.m. PST. Live streaming and live video links can be found through the
team's website.
