LORETTO, Pa. (Sept. 25, 2010) – The Saint Francis men's soccer team received scoring production from seven different players, and sophomore goalkeeper Daniel Valcicak (Herndon, Va./Gonzaga College) (Herndon, Va. / Gonzaga College) stopped one shot, to lead the Red Flash to a convincing 3-0 victory over visiting Howard on Saturday afternoon.

SFU improved to 4-2 on the season, and will now turn its attention to Big Ten power Penn State. The teams will clash at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night at Jeffrey Field in University Park. Attendance is free for fans who travel to Penn State.

The Red Flash have four wins after six games for just the second time in program history (since 1984). The 1988 version of Saint Francis men's soccer also started the season at 4-2.

SFU got goals from redshirt junior Sean O'Reilly (Front Royal,Va./Seton) (Front Royal, Val. / Seton), sophomore Wayne Tiller (Magnolia, Del./Caesar Rodney) (Magnolia, Del. / Caesar Rodney) and sophomore defender James Price (Christchurch, New Zealand/St. Andrew’s College) (Christchurch, New Zealand / St. Andrews College) to earn the victory against the Bison.

“I thought the guys did well today,” said Saint Francis head coach Michael Casper. “Three goals from three different players, and four assists from four different players means that we are getting production throughout our lineup. It was a good win for us today. We'll learn from this and continue to work hard as we push toward Penn State and conference play.”

The Red Flash opened the game with three great chances in the first one minute, 30 seconds, but it took until the 24^th minute until they would strike pay dirt.

After going the first 35 games of his career without a goal, O'Reilly netted his second goal in as many games. He was terrific in the first half, as was his shot from 30 yards out that went into the top left corner of the goal to make it 1-0 at 24:31. With the shutout, the goal would stand as the game-winner, his second in the last two games.

Tiller missed last Friday's game against IPFW, but returned versus Howard and entered the game in the 31^st minute. It took him just over six minutes to make his presence felt. Senior forward Patrick Fleming (Dunedin, New Zealand/Bayfield) (Dunedin, New Zealand / Bayfield) fed a great pass into the left side of the box to Tiller, who blasted a hard shot into the lower left to give SFU a 2-0 lead at 37:50.

That's the way it would stand going into halftime as the Red Flash held a 14-0 advantage in shots and 3-1 lead in corner kicks.

Howard came out with more physicality and put some pressure on Saint Francis in the second half. The Bison nearly got on the board at 65:34 when Jamil Devers' shot from eight yards out hit the right post.

However, Price would score his first career goal to make it 3-0 and put the game out of reach at 72:28. Senior Owen Gombami (Pumula North Bulawayo, Simbabwe/Mzilikazi) (Pumula North Bulawayo, Zimbabwe / Mzilikazi) started the play with a hard shot that was blocked by a Howard defender. The rebound went to freshman Tobi Iguade (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) (Bowie, Md. / DeMatha Catholic), whose shot was deflected by Price into the right corner.

SFU held a 22-7 lead in shots and a 6-3 edge in corner kicks, while Howard was called for 15 fouls against 12 from the Red Flash.

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' 4-2 start ties the best in program history. The Red Flash were also 4-2 after six games in 1988; SFU recorded its third shutout of the season in six games, including two by sophomore goalkeeper Daniel Valcicak (Herndon, Va./Gonzaga College). The Red Flash recorded four shutouts in all of 2009, and didn't get their third shutout until the 17^th game of the year; SFU has now scored 13 goals in its first six games. The Red Flash did not score its 13^th goal until its 13^th game in 2009, and finished last season with 17 goals in 19 games. SFU's 13 goals in the first six games of a season since the team tallied 14 in 1993; senior Patrick Fleming (Dunedin, New Zealand/Bayfield) has at least one point in five of Saint Francis' six games this year, and his four assists on the season are a career high. Fleming's 10 career assists are seventh in program history; the Red Flash improved to 6-1 all-time against Howard, and have outscored the Bison 16-1 in five straight wins; SFU is now 2-0 in the friendly confines of the Stokes Soccer Complex, and is outscoring opponents 5-0 at home; freshman Nick Kolarac (Pittsburgh, Pa./West Allegheny), who led the nation with 37 assists as a high school senior, picked up an assist for the second straight game.