Flash Points:
- Stefan Sjekloca (Belgrade, Serbia/Fryeburg Academy) opened the scoring in the 13th minute.
- Troye Kiernan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) had a goal and an assist in the victory
- Marcus Rojas (Fremont, Calif./Bellarmine College Preparatory) made three saves in his second clean sheet.
LORETTO, PA- The Red Flash took control of Sunday's friendly with Cleveland State early and didn't look back in a convincing 3-0 win on Sunday morning.
Saint Francis out shot the Vikings 14-5 including 9-3 in shots on goal.
Troye Kiernan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) set the early tone with an impressive run that led to the match's first scoring chance just 27 seconds in. CSU keeper Aleksandar Drobac laid out to make the sprawling save. The play was a sign of things to come for Kiernan as he set up Sjekloca in the 13th minute with a touch pass that split the defense. The senior broke in alone on Drobac and beat him to the right side from 16 yards out to make it 1-0 Red Flash.
Cleveland State would look to counter following the early tally, but
Marcus Rojas (Fremont, Calif./Bellarmine College Preparatory) made two of his three saves in the rush that was undone by an offside call. Towards the end of the first half the Flash again turned up the offensive pressure.
Dominic Ramirez (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop) turned the corner on the defense and got the final scoring chance of the half but could not beat Drobac. It would be 1-0 SFU at the half.
Early in the second half, Kiernan found the ball at midfield and broke down the field. The junior held off a pair of Viking defenders and put the ball past freshman keeper Sebastian Kalk to make it 2-0 in the 49th minute. Neither team would get a good chance on goal until
Jack Webber (Bernville, Pa./Tulpehocken) struck a header off a free kick that Kalk deflected away. The Flash kept the pressure on and off a
Brendan McGhee (Pickering, Ontario, Canada/St. Mary's Catholic) corner kick, Webber's header found
Pedro Neto (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Instituto Nossa Senhora Da Gloria) for a tap-in goal amidst the scramble to make it 3-0 in the 69th minute.
Immediately following the goal, the Vikings' best scoring chance came on a deflection from Jake Lagania. The forward re-directed a cross that Rojas blocked down as he dove back towards the goal. The senior smothered the ball, putting to rest the last Viking push to score.
The Flash end the pre-season at 2-0 as they out scored their opponents 8-0 in the two matches. SFU will turn their attention to the Dukes of Duquesne for their season opener on Friday night in Pittsburgh. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
