LORETTO, Pa. (Oct. 27, 2006) – Redshirt freshman Brian Murphy (Newbury, Ohio / West Geauga) scored his first career goal 20 seconds into overtime to lift the Saint Francis men’s soccer team to a thrilling 2-1 victory over Central Connecticut State on Friday, helping to clinch the program’s second-ever spot in the upcoming Northeast Conference Tournament.

Murphy’s goal was the second in 46 seconds for Saint Francis, which tied the match on a Bryce Luetzen (Denver, Colo. / Denver Lutheran) goal with 26 seconds remaining in regulation.

It was the second time this season 26 seconds has shown on the game clock in a big match for the Red Flash. Earlier this season, Saint Francis had then-No. 2 Virginia on the ropes when the Cavaliers tied the match at 1-1 with 26 seconds left. Virginia went on to win that match in overtime.

The Red Flash learned from that result, and kept battling to the end to get the result against the Blue Devils.

Saint Francis improved to 8-6-3 overall, guaranteeing an overall .500 or better record for the third consecutive season under four-year head coach B.J. Craig. The Red Flash men’s soccer program had never had a winning season prior to Craig’s arrival.

Saint Francis, which is ranked sixth in the latest NSCAA/adidas North Atlantic Regional poll, clinched its second-ever Northeast Conference Tournament berth with the victory – both of which have come under Craig’s guidance. The Red Flash are now 5-1-2 in Northeast Conference matches. They will wrap up their regular season with a 1 p.m. tilt against Quinnipiac on Sunday. They will celebrate Senior Day by honoring the contributions of Justin Janicek (Avon Lake, Ohio / Avon Lake), Matt Ruzic (Cleveland, Ohio / Shaker Heights), Victor Stukat Gren (Askim, Sweden / Katrinelundgymnasiet) and Scott Thompson (Durham, England / Lanchester St. Bedes). 

“I am very proud of this group of players,” Craig said. “They showed tremendous belief today, and it didn’t matter on the scoreboard, they were not coming off the field beaten.”

Central Connecticut State (6-7-2, 2-5-1 NEC), which was eliminated from playoff contention with the loss, scored the game’s first goal. Yan Klukowski took a shot on the near post that was saved by sophomore goalkeeper Brad Williams (San Lorenzo, Calif. / Arroyo). However, the rebound came back out to Alex Harrison, who tapped it into an empty net for his ninth goal of the season at 22:04.

Williams finished the game with three saves for the Red Flash.

The Blue Devils found a way to keep Saint Francis off the board until 89:34 when Luetzen found a rebound at his feet. He put the ball into the left side of the net for his fourth goal of the year to bring the Red Flash crowd to their feet. Freshman Daniel Moir (Christchurch, New Zealand / Shirley Boys) recorded his second assist of the season on the goal.

“It was great for our captain to get a goal today,” Craid added. “ He was steady all game, and showed great leadership and step up when the game was on the line.”

Murphy wouldn’t miss on his chance just 46 seconds later either, putting a Jarron Brooks (Mitchellville, Md. / Archbishop Carroll) pass into the lower left corner from 10 yards out to clinch the playoff spot for Saint Francis.

“Brian’s goal came off a world class entry ball from Jarron,” Craig said. “You could not have scripted it any better and for Murph to score his first goal after coming back from a year-long knee injury, it couldn’t have happened to a better player.”

The Red Flash are now locked into the third seed in the four-team NEC Tournament field. They will play either Fairleigh Dickinson or Monmouth in the first round, which will be held at the site of the regular season champion next Friday and Sunday. Either Monmouth or FDU will host the tournament.

“The test now is to stay poised coming into Sunday’s match,” Craig said. “You always want to be going into the playoffs on a winning streak, and not let off the gas pedal.”