>> Saint Francis men's soccer concluded their regular season in a 1-1 draw against Northeast Conference opponent Howard at the Stokes Soccerplex Thursday afternoon.
>> With the draw, the Red Flash secure the No. 5 seed in the NEC Tournament and will play against No. 4 seed Sacred Heart on Sunday in the semifinals.
>> The Red Flash will end the regular season 6-5-4 and 3-2-3 (12 points) in the conference. The team ended the season with a six match unbeaten streak with victories against CCSU, St. Francis Brooklyn and LIU and ties against FDU, Stonehill and Howard.
A Saint Francis foul inside of the box gave Howard a penalty kick in the 58th minute. Howard's Nathan Leggett buried a shot into the right side of the net just past goalkeeper
Jordaine Jaeger's (Munich, Germany/Gymnasium Neubiberg) gloves for a 1-0 Bison lead.
FLASH MOMENT
The Red Flash leveled the match in the 66th minute as Rodriguez collected his first collegiate goal. Midfielder
Ahmed Abd-Elazem (Perry Hall, Md./Perry Hall) played the ball to forward
Nico Stoddart (Brampton, Canada/David Suzuki SS) who passed the ball down field to an open Rodriguez. The senior midfielder launched a strike 15 yards outside of the penalty box to net a goal.
FLASH NUGGETS
Saint Francis held the advantage in shots on goal (6-3) and corners (5-0). Both teams ended the match with 11 shots a piece.
Leading the offensive efforts for the Red Flash was
Lorenz Ender (Ulm, Germany/North Kingstown) with four shots on target.
Tom Schellbach (Freiberg, Germany/Faust Gymnasium) and Rodriguez each had one shot a piece.
Sophomore
Dominic Reiter (Pittsburgh, Pa./Quaker Valley) made his collegiate debut in the first half of today's match. The forward registered 26 minutes.
Jaeger registered two saves in the 90 minutes.
UP NEXT
Men's soccer will play at No. 4 Sacred Heart in the NEC Tournament Semifinals Sunday, November 6. The time is to be determined.
