MORAGA — Returning to the road for the stretch run of West Coast Conference play, the No. 12 San Diego men's soccer team (10-2-3, 4-1-1 WCC) found the back of the net late as they bested the Saint Mary's Gaels (1-6-6, 1-3-2 WCC) by a 1-0 final score from Saint Mary's Stadium. 

The match remained scoreless until the final ten minutes of play as the Toreros put together a late quality chance after a Luca Fava cross into the box gave Steven Ramirez and Volodymyr Kubrakov good looks at the goal before a Gael defender eventually put home the game-winning goal in his own net. 

In goal, Lucca Adams had another stellar afternoon with a clean sheet and four key saves to help the Toreros win their third straight league match. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Getting the action started on a rainy afternoon in the East Bay, Fava made a nice play streaking down the right side of the pitch and firing a shot that was just wide of the cage at the five minute mark. 
• After the Gaels earned a yellow card, Ramirez continued the Toreros' aggressive play as he recorded a pair of shots following USD corner kicks but couldn't break the early scoreless tie.
• Showing some grit on the defensive side of the ball, Adams made a great play in goal to save a Gaels' shot that was sailing towards the bottom right part of the cage. 
• At the 21st minute of play, Josh Martinez got in on the offensive action recording a shot that was blocked. 
• Following a trio of USD subs that brought Godwin Antwi, Taj Eagleston and Devin Zachry into the match, the Torero offense kept on the attack as Eagleston and Cesar Bahena each had chances but couldn't break the tie.
• The two sides went into the locker room scoreless through the first 45 minutes of play. 
• Getting going in the second half, San Diego's Iain Wagner drove another shot for the Toreros this time at the 52nd minute mark. 
• Just six minutes later, Vicente Ayala created another strong scoring chance for USD as his shot was saved by the Saint Mary's keeper as the game remained level.
• As the match got later, the Toreros continued to receive stellar play from their goalkeeper as Adams recorded yet another save to keep the Gaels off the scoreboard on their home pitch. 
• At the 82nd minute mark, Fava was sprinting down the pitch and fired a left-footed rocket that went off of Ramirez's foot that was saved by Saint Mary's. After the ricochet, the ball was kicked off the foot of the Gaels' defender and found the back of the net to give San Diego the game's first lead. 
• After the Toreros were able to take the lead, they wouldn't relinquish it in the final minutes as they earned their third straight victory to keep pace in the WCC standings. 

TORERO TIDBITS

• Adams was phenomenal in goal for the Toreros as he recorded four key saves and earned his sixth clean sheet in 10 matches he's competed in this season. 
• Fava was a key part of the USD attack as he set up the game-winning goal and recorded a pair of shots in his 62 minutes of action.
• Bahena played the full 90 minutes up front for the Toreros on Saturday afternoon as he was also tied for the team lead with two shots recorded.  

UP NEXT
The Toreros will be back in action on their home pitch this Friday, October 31 when they face off with Pacific (3-10-0, 1-4-0 WCC) for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff. Fans are encouraged to wear costumes to celebrate Halloween with the Toreros as candy will be given away to fans in attendance. Live video, live statistics and ticket links can be found via the team's schedule page.