Men's Soccer Opens Season with Win at Saint Mary's

Thursday, August 22

Moraga, CA

7:00 PM

Kansas City

1-0-0, 0-0-0

Saint Mary's

0-1-0, 0-0-0

Kansas City

Saint Mary's (CA)

Photo by: Francie Wilson

Men's Soccer Opens Season with Win at Saint Mary's

8/22/2024 9:37:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Highlights

Elie Kisoka scored the game-winning goal in the 84th minute of his collegiate debut

MORAGA, Calif. - Kansas City Men's Soccer (1-0) used some late game heroics from a fresh face to open the 2024 season with a road victory over Saint Mary's, 1-0, this evening. The two teams seemed destined for a stalemate for the first 80-plus minutes, managing a combined five shots on goal. It was not until Elie Kisoka sent a bouncing shot past the Gaels' goalkeeper in the 84th minute that the difference was made. Goalkeeper Brandon McGaugh made three saves throughout the game to keep SMC scoreless, his first clean sheet as a Roo.

KEY MOMENTS

10' / 0-0 | Luke Hoelting took a pass from Hector Taboada and made his way to the top of the box, sending a shot towards the goal and forcing the Saint Mary's keeper to punch it away, earning a corner kick.
36' / 0-0 | The Gaels applied some pressure late in the first half, but McGaugh was steady in the net, making the first save of the season.
49' / 0-0 | A shot was sent towards the Kansas City goal by SMC's Koren Klein, but McGaugh skied to make yet another save.
80' / 0-0 | It took 35 minutes for the Roos to get a shot off in the second half, with Julien Le Bourdoulous using a set piece to send a free kick towards the goal.
84' / 1-0 | The Roos were able to jump ahead late in the game after a long ball by McGaugh was played back to the feet of Kisoka. Kisoka let a shot fly from over 25 yards away, bouncing past the SMC keeper and into the back of the net for the game winner.

STATS TO NOTE

The win marks Kansas City's first true road win since a Oct. 22, 2022 win over Eastern Illinois.
This is KC's first win in a season-opener in the Ryan Pore era, and is the first overall since a 3-0 victory over Central Arkansas on Aug. 25, 2017.
The Roos were out-shot by Saint Mary's, 8-6 in total shots on the night, with each team placing three total shots on goal.
All six of the Roos' shot attempts came from the starting lineup, with Kisoka and Brevyn Cole each attempting two.

UP NEXT
KC remains on the road for another tester on Saturday, taking on San Francisco at 9 p.m.