DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University men's soccer team fell to 10th-ranked Saint Mary's (Calif.) 5-0 on Saturday night (Oct. 5) at the NIU Soccer Complex. The Gaels scored within two minutes of the beginning of each half in the contest. 

"It was a tough lesson for all of us," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan. "That is a premier team, I thought they were exceptional and really beat us in every aspect of the game. Physically they were better than us, they moved the ball better, they were more organized that us. The good news is there are some things we can fix pretty quickly, we can get the mentality right, but it was a disappointing evening."

Saint Mary's (9-1-0) needed less than 90 seconds to open the scoring as Boyd Curry climbed above the crowd to head home a corner from Andres Engebretsen, giving the Gaels a 1-0 lead in the second minute. 

NIU (4-6-1) redshirt freshman goalkeeper Martin Sanchez (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) made a save on an effort from Jake Rudel in the 10th minute, but two minutes later the Gaels doubled their advantage as Jakub Snehlik fed Joseph Restani who sliced through the Huskie defense and found room to tuck a shot into the corner to give Saint Mary's a 2-0 lead. 

The Huskies had their best chance directly from a corner in the 40th minute as freshman Luis Hernandez (Mesquite, Texas/Lone Star) but a corner kick off the crossbar. On the scramble off the rebound, senior Ethan Pitre (Minneapolis, Minn./Prairie Seeds Academy) had an effort from close range stopped by Saint Mary's goalkeeper Remi Prieur as the Gaels took a 2-0 lead into halftime. 

After the break, Restani setup Rudel for the third with a flicked header from just outside the six-yard box for Saint Mary's in the 47th minute.

Engebretsen scored directly from a corner kick in the 54th minute, bending the set piece inside the back post for an "olympico."

The Gaels finished the scoring in the 73rd minute as Sebastian Schacht and Restani combined down the right side before the low cross by Restani was steered home by Rudel.

Sanchez finished with four saves in the contest for the Huskies, Prieur made one stop between the posts for the Gaels. 

NIU will return to action on Tuesday night, October 8, when the Huskies host Eastern Illinois. Kickoff against the Panthers is scheduled for 6 p.m.