LORETTO, Pa. (Sept. 1, 2006) – The Saint Francis men’s soccer team had several outstanding scoring chances, but Drexel’s defense spoiled the Red Flash home opener 1-0 on a soggy Friday at the Stokes Soccer Complex.
Fabio Assumpcao scored in the 52nd minute off a rebound in front of the net to give the Dragons a 1-0 lead. A cross was broken up by sophomore goalkeeper Brad Williams (San Lorenzo, Calif. / Arroyo), but the rebound came right out to Assumpcao for the eventual game-winner.
Saint Francis registered five shots in the second half, but the Drexel defense stood tall.
Williams stopped four shots in the match, but Cory Robertson had four saves and was the beneficiary of two defensive saves by his Dragons teammates.
The Red Flash dropped to 1-2 on the early season, while Drexel improved to 1-1. Saint Francis will be back in action 1 p.m. Sunday when they travel to take on No. 15 Akron.
"I know the boys are a bit disappointed with the result, but we performed very well in tough conditions while creating some great opportunities,” said Saint Francis head coach B.J. Craig. “I thought we controlled the first half very well and had a good bit of the second half as well, sometimes you just need a bit of luck and it seemed to go to Drexel today. The good thing is we don't have much time to think about it, with a game on Sunday against another Top 10 team. This is the strongest team I have had here, they know how to get their head back up quickly and put together another good performance."
Saint Francis outshot Drexel 8-3 in the first half, and 13-8 overall in the match. The Red Flash fell victim to some unlucky breaks in the contest, including a point-blank shot from 7 yards out by senior forward Scott Thompson (Durham, England / Lanchester Saint Bedes) that went right into the chest of Robertson with 30:49 remaining. Sophomore midfielder Donnie Montoya (Albuquerque, N.M. / Saint Pius X) took an open shot from the right side of the box with 14:30 left. His mark was the left corner of the net, but Robertson was able to dive and scoop it out of harms way. Junior defender Bryce Luetzen (Denver, Colo. / Denver Lutheran) missed just high on a shot with 10:28 remaining.
The Red Flash pressured for much of the final 10 minutes, but they weren’t able to penetrate the Dragons defense, which sat back with seven or eight players after they got the lead.
Thompson had two shots on goal in the match.
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