SAN ANTONIO — St. Mary's Men's Soccer won its first-ever NCAA Tournament match in convincing fashion, defeating Western Washington 5-0 at Sigma Beta Chid Field, thanks in large part to a hat trick from senior forward
Nenad Markovic.
3-seed STMU and 6-seed WWU were locked in a 0-0 tie for the first third of the match, but
Deni Cresto broke the draw in the 34th minute with a powerful shot from outside the box. Just three minutes later, Markovic got on the end of a pass from
Ollie Wright and fought through contact to get his first goal of the night.
Then, eight minutes into the second half, Markovic got his second goal, once again on an assist from Wright. The hat trick was completed 30 minutes later on an assist from
Martin Ibarreche, making Markovic the hero in the Rattlers' NCAA Tournament debut. With four minutes remaining in the match,
Reis Woolley found himself open in the attacking third and slotted a ball into the bottom left corner of the net to seal the victory for the Rattlers.
STMU goalkeeper
Gerard Roebuck totaled six saves on the night en route to a clean sheet to open tournament play and protect the Rattlers' home-field advantage. The team advances to the Round of 16 and will likely face Cal State LA in California the first weekend in December.
