Houston, Texas – The Saint Francis men's soccer team kicks off the 2018 season in Houston with a neutral-site game vs. Texas Rio Grande Valley on Friday, Aug. 24 and an away game at Houston Baptist on Sunday, Aug. 26.
 
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Scouting Texas Rio Grande Valley
 
The Vaqueros went 7-7-3 last season but will have to replace its leading scorer, Ilias Kosmidis, who transferred in the offseason to High Point. Junior Angel Lopez is the team's leading returning scorer with four goals in 2017. Junior Arthur Rogers is also back after registering two goals and three assists. UTRGV outscored its opponents 24-19 last season.
 
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Scouting Houston Baptist
 
The Huskies look to rebound from a 5-10 season in 2017 and will lean on leading scorer Dominick Faletto who recorded two goals and five assists as a sophomore last season. Houston Baptist's 16 goals were split between nine different goal scorers. The Huskies struggled to keep opponents off the scoreboard, allowing 25 goals in 15 matches.
 
Explosive Offense
 
Saint Francis boasted one of the top offenses in the nation last season, ranking t-8th in all of Division I in goals per game (2.11). The 37 total goals were the most by an SFU team since 1994 as 13 difference players found the net. Saint Francis returns 26 of the 37 goals (70.2%) accounted for a year ago.
 
Super Mario Eyes the Record
 
Senior forward Mario Mastrangelo (Venetia, Pa/Peters Township) has his sights set on the Saint Francis career goal record entering his final season in Loretto after ranking eighth in the nation in goals scored in 2017 with 13. If Mastrangelo can exceed that total in 2018 he will graduate as the school's top goal scorer. He trails Barry Bimbi ('93) and Bill Turner ('95) by 13 total goals. Mastrangelo's 13 tallies last season were the second most in single-season program history set by Bimbi in 1990.
 
Peak Consistency
 
Although Saint Francis failed to make the NEC Tournament for the first time since 2011, it still managed to win 10-games in 2017. The Red Flash have reached double digit win totals in each of the last five seasons, tying St. Francis Brooklyn for the longest streak over that time. The Terriers have won 58 games in the five seasons with the Red Flash coming in with 56 wins.