Monday, October 3, 2022
PORTLAND, Ore. - The dam burst for Saint Martin’s last week with a flood of goals overwhelming its opponents and carrying the Saints to GNAC Team of the Week honors.
Saint Martin’s scored eight goals in two matches, more than doubling its season total and propelling the Saints up to fifth in the standings, level on points with Northwest Nazarene and Simon Fraser. The Saints won their first match of the week with a 3-0 shutout at Montana State Billings on Thursday and wrapped up the week with a 5-2 win at home over Western Oregon.
Head coach Rob Walker has seen the progress the young team has made through the start of the season and was complimentary of the way his team has played through the week.
“This week has been really great,” Walker said. “Because we’ve pushed ourselves through a wall and now, we’re a little bit on the other side. We’re in a situation now where we can put some moments together in a game and be dangerous. We’ve scored two goals against Western Washington. We’ve scored three goals in Billings which is never easy to do, and five in the first half [Saturday] which was phenomenal.”
On Thursday, Saint Martin’s earned a hard-fought shutout over Montana State Billings by beating the Yellowjackets 3-0. Nick Mueller earned the first win of the season in net, posting four saves against 14 shots for the clean sheet. Ethan Jud tallied the game-winner in the 48th minute. The goal proved to be the first of several the Saints would net in the match. Caden Martin and Diego Andrade scored their first goals of the season to extend SMU’s lead in the 57th and 82nd minutes, respectively.
The Saints followed up their first win of the season with another just two days later on Saturday, defeating Western Oregon 5-2. Jud led the team again, this time exploding for a first-half hat trick. Andrade continued his hot week as well, putting up a brace in the first half with his second goal being the game-winner. Saint Martin’s was dominant, outshooting the Wolves 20-6 and allowing just three shots on goal. Goalkeepers Hunter Askland and Mueller split duties in goal with Mueller getting the start in net.
Jud’s four-goal week earned him the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week award. The sophomore forward leads SMU and ranks second in the conference with five goals and 11 points.
Saint Martin’s will face Seattle Pacific at home on Thursday before taking on Western Washington on the road in Bellingham on Saturday.