Box Score

LORETTO, Pa. (Oct. 30, 2011) – Needing to win to stay in the Northeast Conference postseason hunt, the Saint Francis University men's soccer team did just that by knocking off the NSCAA's 25th-ranked team, Monmouth 1-0 Sunday afternoon at DeGol Field.

"This is a great win for our guys today,” head coach Michael Casper said. “They came in with the right mentality, played their hearts out and got rewarded with a great win and shutout over a very good team. I am pleased with the entire group today, but I thought James Price (Christchurch, New Zealand/St. Andrew’s College) and Darius Motazed (North Vancouver, Canada/Sentinel Secondary) were terrific for us all game. We are excited about this result and where it puts us in the league but we know we have another must win game against RMU next weekend."

With just over one minute remaining in the first half of action, freshman Pablo Medina (Monterrey, Mexico/IMG Academies) took a pass from junior Wayne Tiller (Magnolia, Del./Caesar Rodney) and chipped the ball past the Hawks (12-5, 6-3) goalkeeper right at the goal line to give the Red Flash (9-6-2, 5-3-1) all they would need. The game winning tally for Medina gives him a team-leading four goals on the year and gives Tiller a team-leading five assists.

Monmouth outshot Saint Francis 12-8 in the game, including an 8-5 advantage in the second half. Senior Darius Motazed (North Vancouver, Canada/Sentinel Secondary) came up big for the Flash in net by making five stops, one of which was a crucial diving save with just over two minutes remaining in the game. This marks Motazed's eighth shutout of the year, which ties a single season school record.

With today's win, the Red Flash boost themselves into a tie for third place in the NEC standings, two points behind Monmouth and one point behind Fairleigh Dickinson.

Saint Francis concludes the regular season with Senior Day next Sunday Nov. 6 when Robert Morris visits Loretto for a 1 p.m. matchup.