BOX SCORE SMITHFIELD, R.I. (Sept. 28, 2012) – Behind
Daniel Valcicak (Herndon, Va./Gonzaga College)'s fourth shutout of the season and freshman
Pedro Machado (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Salesiano Santa Rosa)'s first collegiate goal, the Saint Francis U men's soccer team shutout Bryant on the road 1-0 Friday afternoon.
"I am proud of our guys for finding a way today and getting a win," head coach
Michael Casper said. "We have had to deal with a lot of adversity and the guys showed a tremendous amount of character today. We knew at times it wasn't going to be pretty but we stuck together, kept a clean sheet and got a big three points."
The Bulldogs (2-3-1, 0-1-0 NEC) held the upper hand on the offensive attack in the first half, outshooting the Red Flash (3-4-2, 1-0-0 NEC) by a 6-4 margin. Bryant's defenders held SFU without a shot until 16:06 when
Wayne Tiller (Magnolia, Del./Caesar Rodney) launched a shot high above the net.
After a scoreless first half, Saint Francis wasted little time in pressuring the Bulldogs and starting keeper Chris Knaub. Just over a minute into the start of period two,
Alex Hainault (Montreal, Quebec/Westwood) and
David Trunzo (State College, Pa./State College) got off back-to-back shots in Bryant's end, pushing one just wide and forcing Knaub to make his first save of the half.
Nearly nine minutes later at the 54:57 mark, Machado got the Red Flash on the board with, what would prove to be, the game winning tally. The Brazilian forward outplayed the Bulldog keeper and delivered a strong strike to the far post for his first career goal.
SFU looked for more in the contest, continuing to apply solid offensive pressure throughout the remainder of the second half. The Flash collected four more shots in the game but it was the defensive efforts that solidified the conference opening victory. Valcicak picked up his ninth career shutout after making five saves on the afternoon.
Saint Francis continues NEC play this Sunday as they wrap up their five-game road trip with a noon contest at Sacred Heart.
