Baltimore, Md. - The season opener for the Saint Francis men's soccer team continued on a trend set in the preseason, as the Flashes played the Loyola (Md.) Greyhounds to a scoreless draw.
The Flashes pressured all night long, owning a 14-8 shot advantage and doubled up the Greyhounds 6-3 in shots on goal. Saint Francis had their first chance off a corner kick just minutes into the match but Troye Kiernan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) had his shot blocked off the set piece. Calvin Rezende (Davie, Fla. /University School at Nova Southeastern) saw a similar fate on his shot in the 32^nd minute and missed a shot just high in the final moments of the first half.
In the second 45, Rezende again pressured but had one shot saved by keeper Matt Sanchez and a second blocked. Sanchez made five saves in the second half, three on Calvin Rezende (Davie, Fla. /University School at Nova Southeastern) and another on brother Conner Rezende (Davie, Fla. /University School at Nova Southeastern). Stefan Sjekloca (Belgrade, Serbia/Fryeburg Academy) had a shot stopped by Sanchez in the 85^th minute and the rebound from Pablo Medina (Monterrey, Mexico/IMG Academies) clanged off the crossbar.
The overtimes did not produce much for either team. Defensively, the Flashes were strong once again. Andrew Garcia (Sicklerville, N.J./Timber Creek Regional) made three saves across the 110 minutes including two in the second half. Garcia was not tested in overtime.  Loyola did have six corner kicks, but the Saint Francis defense was stout, allowing just one shot off the six set pieces.

Saint Francis now sits at 0-0-1 on the young season. They will head to Oneonta, New York next weekend for the Mayor's Cup hosted by Hartwick. First up are the Norse of Northern Kentucky. Kick-off is set for 5 p.m. on Friday night.