Men's Soccer Ties First Place Monmouth, Playoff Hopes Intact
LORETTO, Pa. (Oct. 30, 2005) - Saint Francis University senior goalkeeper Bobby Pipech (Broadheadsville, Pa.) turned away all 17 shots faced to lead the Red Flash to a scoreless draw against league-leader Monmouth in a Northeast Conference match at Stokes Athletics Field on Sunday afternoon.
Saint Francis (6-5-5, 2-2-3 NEC) and Fairleigh Dickinson are tied for seventh place in the NEC standings with nine points apiece. Quinnipiac and Mount Saint Mary's are in a tie for fifth with 10 points each, while Sacred Heart holds the important fourth place slot with 12 points. Saint Francis will have to post a pair of victories against Saint Francis (N.Y.) and Long Island this weekend to have a chance at qualifying for the NEC Tournament for the second straight season.
Monmouth (8-3-6, 5-0-3 NEC), which clinched an NEC playoff bid with the tie, outshot Saint Francis, 17-6, and held a 6-5 edge in corners.
The Hawks had several good goal-scoring opportunities throughout the match. With 15:05 remaining in the first half, Tom Gray forced Pipech to make a diving save with a well placed free kick. Pipech then stymied a hard 16-yard shot from the right side of the box by Gray just 44 seconds later.
The Red Flash had their first quality scoring chance at the start of the second half when freshman Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe (Greenbelt, Md.) let loose a shot from 14-yards away, but Hawks goalkeeper Art Satterwhite was in position to make the save.
Monmouth was awarded an indirect free kick inside the penalty box in the 58th minute, but Ed Hayden's shot hit Saint Francis' wall and never threatened. Gray had a breakaway opportunity stopped by Pipech two minutes later. Junior Scott Thompson (Durham, England) almost put the Red Flash on top with 6:14 to play in regulation but his shot to the left corner was turned away by Satterwhite.
With time winding down in the first overtime period, Hayden hammered a shot from 10-yards out that finished in the side-netting as time expired.
Pipech closed with seven saves to pick up his sixth shutout of the season and 14th of his career. Satterwhite made two saves to keep the Hawks undefeated in conference play.
Red Flash seniors Pipech and Cesar Pena (Scarsborough, Ontario) were honored prior to the start of the match.
Saint Francis will play Saint Francis (N.Y.) at Saint John's University on Friday at 4:00 p.m.
Saint Francis 0
Monmouth 0
SFU 0 0 0 0 - 0
MON 0 0 0 0 - 0
Shots: SFU - 6; MON - 17
Saves: SFU - 8 (Pipech 7, Team 1); MON - 2 (Satterwhite 2)
Corner kicks: SFU - 5; MON - 6
Records: SFU - 6-5-5, 2-2-3 NEC; MON - 8-3-6, 5-0-3 NEC
Next game: Saint Francis (Pa.) vs. Saint Francis (N.Y.) at Saint John's, 4:00 p.m., Friday