Men's Soccer 8/25/2017 3:42:00 PM

Kiernan paces second-half comeback in 4-2 win over Duquesne

BOX SCORE Loretto, Pa. - The Saint Francis men's soccer team erased a 2-0 halftime deficit in its season opener behind two goals and two assists from senior Troye Kiernan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) to down Duquesne 4-2 at the Stokes SoccerPlex on Friday.

Moore's Reaction

"It's a very good win," said head coach Antony Moore. "We were down 2-0 at halftime and the team showed tremendous character to battle back. Even when we went ahead 3-2, we still stayed aggressive and took the game to them over the final 15 minutes. I'm proud of the group and we need to take the momentum into Sunday.

Turning Point

The Red Flash scored three goals in a span of 17 minutes to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead. Junior Mario Mastrangelo (Venetia, Pa/Peters Township) scored the go-ahead goal in the 73rd minute, taking a feed from Kiernan and beating the keeper to the far post.

Highlights

The Dukes struck early with a goal in the 5th minute. Zach Hall was the goal scorer, redirecting a Ryan Landry cross past senior goalkeeper Marcus Rojas (Fremont, Calif./Bellarmine College Preparatory) from close range.
Saint Francis settled into the match, recording six consecutive shots before Duquesne hit them on the counter attack. Jallah Acqui gave the Dukes a 2-0 lead, heading home a cross from Zach Hall.
Duquesne nearly added a third goal before the half but Rojas came off his line strong to make a point-blank save on a 1-on-1 attempt. The Duquesne forward pounced on the rebound and set a shot towards the vacant goal, but senior defender Nick Hanuscin (Cinnaminson, N.J./Bishop Eustace) slid in to block the shot off the goal line and keep the Red Flash in the match.
Saint Francis came out of the half flying and was rewarded with a goal in the 56th minute. Junior defender Nicco Mastrangelo (Venetia, Pa/Peters Township) started the opportunity, winning a header off a Duquesne goal kick. Kiernan ran on to the end of the header and held off his defender. His initial shot hit the post but the rebound came right back to him and he slotted home to get the Red Flash on the board.
Junior Tulio Canineu (Corbin, Ky/Corbin) evened the score at 2-2 in the 66th minute. Freshman Kevin Smolyn (Holland, Pa./Germantown Academy), making his collegiate debut, got on the ball in the midfield and broke the Duquesne pressure with a pass to Kiernan. The senior turned into space and hit Canineu striding down the left flank. Canineu took his first touch to goal and finished under the goalkeeper for his second career goal.
Kiernan set up the go-ahead goal in the 73rd minute, using his pace to turn the corner on the Duquesne back line and cross for Mario Mastrangelo (Venetia, Pa/Peters Township). The forward calmly collected the pass and finished to the far post for his 15th career goal.
The Red Flash put the nail in the coffin in the 86th minute. Sophomore Jacob Gratzer (Olmstead Falls, OH/St. Edward's) won a challenge in the midfield and sprung Kiernan on the counter. The senior made no mistake, scoring his second of the match.

Notes

The Red Flash outshot Duquesne 14-8 for the match and 7-3 over the final 45 minutes.
Kiernan's six points set a new career-high.
Kiernan led the Flash with four shots while Mario Mastrangelo (Venetia, Pa/Peters Township) followed with three.
Hanuscin and seniors Kaelon Fox (Louisville, KY/St. Xavier (Kentucky)) and Jonathon Otting (Louisville, Ky/St. Xavier (Xavier (OH) University)) logged 90 minutes in the SFU back line.
Gratzer, Kevin Smolyn (Holland, Pa./Germantown Academy), Eric Ganime (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Colegio Icaro) and Leonardo Ribeiro (Florence, Italy/Liceo Linguistico "G Pascoli") made their SFU debuts.