Saint Francis Men’s Soccer Shuts Out the Mount
LORETTO, Pa. (Oct. 28, 2005) – Senior Cesar Pena (Scarsborough, Ontario) scored his first goal of the year in the 26th minute to propel Saint Francis to a key 1-0 win against Mount Saint Mary’s in Northeast Conference men’s soccer action at Stokes Athletics Field on Friday.
Pena was able to bury a right footed shot from six yards out after a scramble in front of the Mount’s net. Freshman Aaron Clapham (Christchurch, New Zealand) sent in a corner kick and both teams traded headers inside the box. Pena raced in from the right side and sent a right-footed volley into the left corner of the goal.
“Today was a total team effort,” said Red Flash head coach B.J. Craig. “We had a lot of different players step up. I was very pleased with how we performed against one of the top teams in the NEC.”
The Mount had perhaps its best opportunity to tie the game with 15 minutes to play when Howdy Long broke free in the SFU backfield. Long dribbled toward Red Flash senior goalkeeper Bobby Pipech (Broadheadsville, Pa.) on the right side of the box, but Pipech charged and knocked the ball away to preserve the shutout.
Mount Saint Mary’s (4-8-3, 3-3-1 NEC) outshot Saint Francis, 11-10. Pipech boosted his school-record single-season shutout total to six and career total to 14 with six saves. Mark Murphy posted three saves for the Mountaineers.
Saint Francis (6-5-4, 2-2-2 NEC) entered today’s match in 8th place in the league standings and was in desperate need of a victory to remain in the hunt for an NEC Tournament berth. Mount Saint Mary’s was tied for 2nd place in the league with 10 points.
Saint Francis has eight league points and can still play its way into the NEC Tournament. The Red Flash will celebrate Senior Day on Sunday when they host Monmouth at Noon. The Hawks sat atop the NEC standings entering this weekend with a 4-0-2 mark and 14 points.
Saint Francis 1
Mount Saint Mary’s 0
SFU 1 0 – 1
MSM 0 0 – 0
Shots: SFU – 10; MSM – 11
Saves: SFU – 6 (Pipech 6); MSM – 4 (Murphy 3, Team 1)
Corner kicks: SFU – 6; MSM – 4
Records: SFU - 6-5-4, 2-2-2 NEC; MSM – 4-8-3, 3-3-1 NEC
Next game: Monmouth at Saint Francis, Noon, Sunday