LORETTO, Pa. (Sept. 17, 2010) – Senior Owen Gombami (Pumula North Bulawayo, Simbabwe/Mzilikazi) (Pumula North Bulawayo, Zimbabwe / Mzilikazi) and junior Sean O'Reilly (Front Royal,Va./Seton) (Front Royal, Va. / Seton) tallied another to lead the Saint Francis men's soccer team to a convincing 3-1 victory over visiting IPFW on Friday afternoon at the Stokes Soccer Complex.

The Red Flash snapped a two-game losing skid to improve to 3-2 on the year. They will return to action on Wednesday when in-state rival Bucknell visits for a 3:30 p.m. match-up.

“I am proud of the guys for what we were able to do today,” said Saint Francis head coach Michael Casper. “We started very well, and jumped on them early, but we now have to learn how to play consistently over the course of 90 minutes. After we conceded I was wondering how we were going to handle it, but the team responded well with the third goal and that killed the game off. Owen Gombami (Pumula North Bulawayo, Simbabwe/Mzilikazi) was terrific today, scored two big goals for us and I am happy for him. This is a big step forward for us on our journey this season, and now we will continue to work hard, keep improving and get ready for Bucknell.”

Gombami tallied his first two goals of the season, with his first goal coming in the 17^th minute. Sophomore Seamus Ryder (Dunedin, New Zealand / Otago Boys) started the play with a pass out of the back to freshman Nick Kolarac (Pittsburgh, Pa./West Allegheny) (Pittsburgh, Pa. / West Allegheny), who fed Gombami with a long pass down the middle of the field. Gombami took a couple dribbles and got the ball past a challenging goalkeeper for an easy tap-in from 15 yards out to make it 1-0 at 17:38.

O'Reilly tallied his first career goal, which would eventually be the game-winner, at 25:53 off a great individual effort. Junior Kingsley McLeod (Rocky Mount, N.C./Rocky Mount) (Rocky Mount, N.C. / Rocky Mount) fed O'Reilly a pass just outside upper left corner of the 18-yard box. O'Reilly dribbled into the 18-yard box and, fighting off a defender, launched a bender into the top left corner to make it 2-0.

IPFW finally broke through in the 62^nd minute when Max Touloute hit a penalty kick into the upper right corner to cut the Red Flash lead to 2-1.

The Mastodons, who fell to 2-5 on the season, put plenty of pressure on SFU, but it would be Gombami putting the game on ice with a shot into the lower left corner from 16 yards out. Senior Patrick Fleming (Dunedin, New Zealand/Bayfield) (Dunedin, New Zealand / Bayfield) would record his team-leading ninth point of the season on the goal as he received an assist.

Sophomore Daniel Valcicak (Herndon, Va./Gonzaga College) (Herndon, Va. / Gonzaga College) made three saves in the contest, including two that were diving stops.

The Red Flash outshot an opponent for the first time this season, holding a 16-10 advantage. Saint Francis had six corner kicks, while IPFW had four. Both teams were whistled for 10 fouls each.

For periodic men's soccer updates and other Red Flash news, follow Director of Athletic Communications Bob Volkert on Twitter at SFUVolkert.

Game Notes: Saint Francis has 10 goals through five games this season (2.00 goals per game). The Red Flash did not score their 10^th goal until their 10^th game against CCSU last year. SFU scored 17 goals in 19 games in 2009; Saint Francis scored three goals in a game for the second time this season. It has been three seasons (2007) since SFU has scored three goals in a game twice in one season; the Red Flash snapped a six-game, first-half scoreless drought with two goals in the first half. SFU went 322:26 first half minutes without scoring a goal, dating back to a win over Monmouth on Oct. 25 of last year; with his first goal of the game, Owen Gombami (Pumula North Bulawayo, Simbabwe/Mzilikazi) snapped a personal 20-game scoreless drought. The goals were the eighth and ninth of his career (fifth and sixth in a Red Flash uniform).