Box Score

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Oct. 14, 2011) – The Saint Francis University men's soccer team snapped a two-game slide by downing Northeast Conference foe Long Island 1-0 on a rain filled Friday afternoon in New York.

The match remained tightly contested between the Red Flash (6-6-1, 2-3) and Blackbirds (3-7-3, 1-3) until late in the second half of action. In the 78^th minute, sophomore Nick Kolarac (Pittsburgh, Pa./West Allegheny) notched his second goal of the season and the first game winning tally of his career, to give Saint Francis the edge. Freshman Shaun Russell (Chesapeake, Va./Norfolk Collegiate) set up Kolarac for the solo strike in front of the net, his first collegiate assist.

“This is a big win for our team. It is never easy to go to LIU and get a win so I am very pleased with our guys,” head coach Michael Casper said. “It feels great to get a shutout and Nicky scored a goal worthy to win any game. We are excited about this and will enjoy it tonight but now we need to prepare and get ready for another stiff test on Sunday.”

The Red Flash held the lead in shots by a 13-9 margin while the Blackbirds gained a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks for the contest. SFU placed just two shots on goal, one by goal scorer Kolarac and the other coming in the first half by Makala Hairston (Baltimore, Md./Calvert Hall College). LIU made it a fairly easy outing for starting goalkeeper Darius Motazed (North Vancouver, Canada/Sentinel Secondary), who picked up his fifth shutout win of the season, as he faced no save opportunities.

Saint Francis continues its stay in Brooklyn through the weekend as they square off with St. Francis (N.Y.) at 1 p.m. Sunday.