BOX SCORE

LORETTO, Pa. (Oct. 14, 2011) – Saint Francis University prevailed in a midseason matchup of Northeast Conference-leading teams, downing the Monmouth Hawks, 2-1, at DeGol Field on Friday afternoon.  Monmouth (8-5; 4-1) entered the game with a one-point edge in the race to host the upcoming NEC tournament, but the Red Flash emerged as the only team with an unblemished league record at 8-5-1 and 4-0-1 in the NEC.

“I'm extremely pleased with how our team played today,” said SFU head coach Brenda van Stralen.  “To beat a high-quality opponent like Monmouth is a huge step for our program.”

Both teams looked evenly matched in the opening 45 minutes.  Each team took precisely six shots but Saint Francis built a 3-to-1 edge in corners as the first half ended with no score.

The match would remain scoreless for the first 20 minutes of the second half before Tesa McKibben (Cogan Station, Pa./Montoursville) crossed a ball from the left corner to find Barbara Maros de Carvalho (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Sagrado Coraco de Jesus) waiting 10 yards in front of the goal.  Maros de Carvalho trapped the ball while turning away from the net before tapping the ball backwards and into the goal off of her heel.

In the 82nd minute, Monmouth found the equalizer in the form of a streaking Dana Costello.  Costello sliced through traffic in front of the net and pulled the trigger from 10 yards out to notch her fifth score of the season.

Three minutes and seven seconds later, McKibben delivered the game winner by floating a shot from 20 yards out into the corner of the net.  The goal gave the junior her 10th tally of the season and her 24th point of the campaign.

SFU keeper Brianna Butcher (East Longmeadow, Mass./East Longmeadow) registered six saves in the game, while her Monmouth counterpart, Jocelyn McCoy, made four stops.  Saint Francis ended up with an 11-to-9 edge in shots and a 5-to-2 advantage in corner kicks.

The Red Flash return to action on Sunday when it visits Mount St. Mary's for a 1 p.m. match.