SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — California: The land of opportunity.

The Saint Mary's University men's soccer team had their share of opportunities during their first game of a two-game swing through northern California Friday afternoon — and the Cardinals took full advantage of them.

Mike Schmitt (Woodridge, Ill.) and Tim Bollis (Milwaukee, Wis.) each scored two goals, as the Cardinals equalled a season-high with four goals in beating Cal State-Hayward 4-3.

The two teams exchanged goals in the game's opening 15 minutes, with Schmitt opening the scoring in the fifth minute with his team-leading ninth goal of the season.

Schmitt netted his second of the game at the 20-minute mark, and Bollis padded the SMU lead to 3-1 with eight minutes remaining in the first half.

Bollis — who has now teamed with Schmitt to score the last six SMU goals — made it 4-1 when his shot caromed off the goal post and into the net. CS-Hayward made things interesting, scoring back-to-back goals nine minutes apart — the second on a penalty kick in the 89th minute — but the Cardinals hung on to their one-goal lead in pushing their overall record to 6-8-1.

Ryan O'Connor (San Diego, Calif.) stopped eight shots for the Cardinals, while SMU finished with four goals on five shots.

SMU closes out its season on Sunday, taking on UC-Santa Cruz in a nonconference game.