MORAGA, Calif. – The Pacific men's soccer program secured its first West Coast Conference victory and shutout of the season, defeating Saint Mary's, 1-0, on Saturday afternoon at Saint Mary's Stadium.

The Tigers (3-8, 1-2 WCC) collected quality contributions on offense and defense, taking down the Gaels (0-5-5, 0-2-1 WCC) for their first all-time victory on the road there.

"It was a good performance, not necessarily from stylistic perspective, but from a mentality and grind-it-out standpoint," Pacific head coach Adam Reeves said. "It takes maturity and leadership to withstand the pressure we did over the last 30 minutes. I'm most proud of the shutout."

Junior Milo Risenhoover was sharp all afternoon in his first career start as a Tiger, stopping five Gael shots on goal for his first shutout of the season. Risenhoover and the Pacific defense battened down the hatches in the final third of the contest as Saint Mary's poured on 16 shot attempts in the defensive effort.

Senior and captain Luca Baltzer capitalized on a penalty kick in the 59th minute that proved to be the difference. Baltzer collected his team-leading third goal of the season, extending his career-best mark for a season.

Sophomore Ezekiel Padilla was a force on offense as well, taking a team-high three shot attempts, including one on target.

With the victory, the Tigers have won two straight contests over the Gaels in the head-to-head match-up.

Pacific looks to ride the wave of momentum into their next contest, facing San Francisco at 7 p.m on Wednesday from Knoles Field on Latinx Heritage Night and Staff & Faculty Appreciation Night.

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