LORETTO, Pa. (Oct. 25, 2009) – Senior Daniel Moir (Christchurch, New Zealand/Shirley Boys) (Christchurch, New Zealand / Shirley Boys) had a goal and an assist to help the Saint Francis men's soccer team shock No. 7 Monmouth, 2-0, on Sunday afternoon at DeGol Field.
The Red Flash broke through on a defense that ranked second in the nation, and had not allowed a goal in its past eight games, spanning 789 minutes, 41 seconds of game time. While SFU became the first team to score more than one goal against the Hawks, the Red Flash defense also became just the second team to hold them scoreless.
Saint Francis improved to 6-10-1 overall, and 2-5-1 in the Northeast Conference, and will return to action with a 2:30 p.m. contest against Bryant on Friday afternoon at the Stokes Soccer Field.
“I am really proud of our guys,” said Saint Francis head coach Mike Casper. “We battled hard for 90 minutes and beat a very good side. The defensive effort to keep a clean sheet was fantastic, and offensively we provided the moments of quality it takes to score goals. The boys showed some tremendous heart and character today, and proved what they are capable of.”
Moir scored the game's first goal at 10 minutes, 26 seconds off a feed from freshman Wayne Tiller (Magnolia, Del./Caesar Rodney) (Magnulia, Del. / Caesar Rodney). Just over one minute later, Monmouth starting goalkeeper Bryan Meredith was issued a red card and ejected from the match, leaving the Hawks with just 10 players on the field for the remainder of the contest.
Monmouth, which was one of just two teams (top-ranked Akron) in the country without a loss, still had its share of quality chances, but SFU junior goalkeeper Darius Motazed (North Vancouver, Canada/Sentinel Secondary) (North Vancouver, Canada / Sentinel Secondary) stopped four shots to record his third shutout of the season. Sophomore Kingsley McCleod (Rocky Mount, N.C. / Rocky Mount) also scored for the Red Flash, while Tiller, Moir and junior Patrick Fleming (Dunedin, New Zealand/Bayfield) (Dunedin, New Zealand / Bayfield) recorded assists.
With the Red Flash leading 1-0, Tiller nearly made it a two-goal game when he targeted a shot for the right side of the goal. However, George Caiella was there to record the defensive save. Monmouth backup goalkeeper Alex Blackburn made a great save of a Tamas Maffey-Stumpe (Cairns, Queensland, Australia/Mossman State) (Julathen, Australia / Mossmon State) shot just moments later.
Ryan Kinne made a move and rifled a shot targeted for the near post from eight yards out, but Motazed made a terrific diving save with 6:46 remaining in the first half.
Saint Francis took the 1-0 lead into halftime, and then withstood pressure from Monmouth early in the second stanza without allowing any quality chances. However, Kinne had a good look with 13:57 remaining, but Motazed stood tall and thwarted another shot to keep it 1-0.
Just over two minutes later, Motazed was called for a foul for a hand ball just outside of the 18-yard box, giving Monmouth a great opportunity to tie the match. RJ Allen played a great ball into the box, where Chase Barbieri got a head on it. However, Barbieri's shot hit the crossbar and fell harmlessly behind the goal for a goal kick.
SFU put the game away with 7:10 remaining when Fleming fed a pass from the left sideline to the right post to Moir, who headed a ball back to the middle of the goal, where McCleod slammed home a headshot for his second goal of the season.
Monmouth held a slight 10-9 edge in shots, and a 10-4 advantage in corner kicks. Both teams were whistled for three offside calls.
