Flash Points:
- CJ Smolyn (Holland, PA/Germantown Academy) scored his first collegiate goal in the 45th minute
- Jack Webber (Bernville, Pa./Tulpehocken) scored off a rebound to add insurance
- Marcus Rojas (Fremont, Calif./Bellarmine College Preparatory) faced six shots but didn't need to make a save in the shutout
LORETTO, PA- Freshman
CJ Smolyn (Holland, PA/Germantown Academy) scored with just 40 seconds left in the first half and
Jack Webber (Bernville, Pa./Tulpehocken) added insurance in the 75th minute as SFU picked up their first win of the season, 2-0 over the Loyola (MD) Greyhounds on Monday afternoon.
Smolyn finished off a cross from
Dominic Ramirez (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop), deflecting the ball into the top right corner of the net to break a scoreless tie. Up until that goal, each team only had one scoring chance in a match that was played primarily in the midfield.
Renan Fuentes (Sao Paolo, Brazil/Colegio Joao XXIII) nearly had his second goal of the season, heading a
Brendan McGhee (Pickering, Ontario, Canada/St. Mary's Catholic) corner kick in the 11th minute. The shot was destined for inside the far post but Matt Sanchez dove quickly to his left to make the save. In the 23rd minute, Gabriel Carlsson just missed for the Greyhounds, putting a shot just over the crossbar from about 10 yards out.
In the final minute of the first half,
Tulio Canineu (Corbin, Ky/Corbin) found space on the near side and his pass led Ramirez to the near corner. Ramirez put a cross perfectly into the box and onto Smolyn's foot who deflected it over a sprawling Sanchez and into the top corner. It would be 1-0 SFU at the half.
The Greyhounds threatened in the 60th minute as freshman Brian Saramago missed just high with a rising shot. SFU was able to counter off the near miss, earning three corner kicks but Colin Wurst's shot off the third set piece was smothered by Sanchez to end the threat. Things got chippy midway through the second half as yellow cards were issued to
Mario Mastrangelo (Venetia, Pa/Peters Township) on SFU and the Loyola bench as well as Mickey Watson of the Greyhounds. Off the cards, Loyola nearly tied the game as Shane Kastl just missed the near post.
Saint Francis got some insurance in the 75th minute. Loyola was called for a foul just outside the goal box,
Francis de Vries (Christchurch, New Zealand/Cashmere) bent a shot around the wall that was stopped by Sanchez.
Mario Mastrangelo (Venetia, Pa/Peters Township) found the rebound but was also stopped by Sanchez. After a failed clear,
Jack Webber (Bernville, Pa./Tulpehocken) corralled the loose ball and put home his first of the season.
Marcus Rojas (Fremont, Calif./Bellarmine College Preparatory) faced six shots, but none were on goal to earn his first clean sheet of the season. Saint Francis out shot Loyola 9-6 in the match and had all six shots on goal. The Red Flash also owned a 4-2 edge in corner kicks. Saint Francis improves to 1-1 on the season while Loyola falls to 0-2. SFU hits the road this weekend, heading to Ohio to face Cincinnati and Dayton. The Flyers are up first on Friday night, match time is set for 8 p.m..
