LORETTO, Pa. (Oct. 13, 2007) – The Saint Francis men's soccer team relentlessly pressured Sacred Heart over the final seven minutes, but couldn't find the back of the net in a tough 1-0 Northeast Conference loss on Sunday at the Stokes Soccer Complex.

 Luke Gagliardi rifled a shot from 25 yards out at 65 minutes, 22 seconds to give the Pioneers the only goal they would need on the afternoon.

The Red Flash dropped their first NEC match of the year to fall to 5-6-1 overall, and 3-1 in the conference. They will try to rebound with a pair of matches in Connecticut next weekend. Saint Francis will battle Central Connecticut State on Friday before traveling to Quinnipiac on Sunday.

The Red Flash outshot Sacred Heart 12-10 in the match, and held a 9-3 advantage in the final 45 minutes.

David Backman nearly gave the Pioneers a 1-0 lead just over 20 minutes into the contest. Nemanja Filimonovic sent a perfect corner kick to the far post, where Backman got a head on it. The ball hit the post and a Red Flash defender knocked it away.

 At 24:39, Backman again just missed on an opportunity when his free kick from 23 yards out hit the crossbar and then was cleared by an SFU defender.

 Freshman Patrick Fleming (Dunedin, New Zealand / Bayfield) had Saint Francis' first opportunity of the second half. He came away with a tackle near the left sideline and released a shot from 40 yards out that Pioneers goalkeeper Matt Jones made a leaping save on. Senior Jarron Brooks (Mitchellville, Md/Archbrishop ) (Mitchellville, Md. / Archbishop Carroll) had a shot from 20 yards out off the ensuing corner kick, but Jones made an easy save.

 Sophomore Daniel Moir (Christchurch, New Zealand/Shirley Boys) (Christchurch, New Zealand / Shirley Boys) had Saint Francis best chance in the second half, but was stopped by Sacred Heart goalkeeper Matt Jones with 6:23 remaining.