LANGHORNE, Pa. — Zach Blaum had a hand in all three St. Mary’s College of Maryland goals Saturday, and the 3-1 win at Cairn University did more than close the regular season. It locked up the No. 4 seed and a home game in the United East Conference men’s soccer tournament, and it gave head coach Alun Oliver the 150th victory of his career.
Oliver, in his 16th season, has gone 150-112-28 since taking over the Seahawks in 2011, according to the official recap and box score. The Oct. 24 win moved St. Mary’s College to 8-8-1 overall and 5-2-1 in the United East and extended its unbeaten streak to four games. Cairn fell to 6-5-6 and 3-4-1.
The Seahawks, who won the United East tournament in 2023 and 2024, open the postseason at 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, against No. 5 seed Penn College (8-5-4) at Jamie L. Roberts Stadium in St. Mary’s City.
Blaum’s afternoon
The junior midfielder from Mechanicsville, Virginia, set up the opener in the seventh minute. Senior defender Ethan Wright of Columbia finished Blaum’s pass at 6:38 for his second career goal.
Cairn answered at 14:56, when Brock Burres scored off an assist from Alijah Miller, and the teams went to halftime tied 1-1.
Blaum put St. Mary’s College back in front at 54:17, finishing a ball from senior forward Lucas Evans for his team-leading 10th goal of the season. Evans, a Greenbelt resident who played at South River High School in Anne Arundel County, came into the weekend hot after scoring three goals in five minutes against Penn State Berks.
The insurance goal had a Leonardtown stamp on it. Blaum fed first-year midfielder Caleb Phillips, a Leonardtown High School graduate, who finished at 76:14 for his second goal of the year. Senior captain Zack Reed, also from Leonardtown and Leonardtown High, made three saves in goal to improve to 4-4-1.
The numbers
St. Mary’s College outshot Cairn 19-7, put 10 shots on goal to the Highlanders’ four and won the corner count 6-3. Cairn goalkeeper Xander Jakeway made seven saves to keep the margin at two.
Team stats SMCM Cairn Goals 3 1 Shots 19 7 Shots on goal 10 4 Saves 3 7 Corner kicks 6 3 Offsides 1 0 Fouls 15 8
- Scoring: SMCM, Wright (Blaum) 6:38; Cairn, Burres (Miller) 14:56; SMCM, Blaum (Evans) 54:17; SMCM, Phillips (Blaum) 76:14.
- Blaum: 5 shots, 1 on goal, 1 goal, 2 assists.
- Wright: 2 shots, 2 on goal, 1 goal. Phillips: 2 shots, 1 on goal, 1 goal. Evans: 1 shot, 1 assist.
- Cairn: Burres 2 shots, both on goal, 1 goal; Jakeway 7 saves.
Up next
St. Mary’s College hosts No. 5 Penn College in a United East quarterfinal at 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, at Jamie L. Roberts Stadium. The Seahawks have shown their scoring range this month, including a 10-0 rout of Gallaudet. Conference tournament tickets are sold through the Hudl app, as the league announced this month.
