BOX SCORE
Loretto, Pa. - Saint Francis women's soccer saw defeat on Thursday in a 2-1 loss to Howard on Thursday afternoon.
"We are obviously disappointed with the result today." Head Coach Brian Diaz said. "Give full credit to Howard. They came out and took a hold of the game before we could step a foot into it."
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Lauren Pyle netted her fourth goal of the campaign via a penalty kick.
>> The Red Flash registered five shots on the afternoon. Pyle and Raine Korpics led the way with two each.
>> Emma Sawich made 10 saves in the match.
TURNING POINTS OF THE GAME
Maridza Desir drew a penalty inside the box that led to a penalty kick for the Red Flash. Pyle buried the penalty in the left corner of the net to put the Red Flash in front.
Howard leveled the match in the 47th minute. They would take the lead in the 78th minute.
"We have got to be able to establish our play as well, and we struggled to do that today." Diaz said.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first 20 minutes or so were uneventful. The two sides traded chances around the 20-minute mark.
Mercedez Paino nearly capitalized on an excellent through ball from Pyle, but was denied by a sliding save.
Korpics fired a rocket of a shot in the 25th minute and had her shot saved.
Howard would have a number of chances throughout the middle portion of the half.
Sawich made a save late in the half on a point-blank Howard header to keep the match level.
Pyle would bury her penalty kick in the 41st minute to give Saint Francis a 1-0 lead.
Howard came out of the break and drew even in just under two minutes.
In the 70th minute, Pyle tried to make it a brace for herself with a shot from 30 yards out but was denied by the keeper.
Korpics nearly put Saint Francis back in front in the 72nd minute with a bullet of a shot that required an incredible save to keep out.
Howard scored a goal to break the 1-1 deadlock with 12 minutes to go.
The Red Flash could not answer that goal before time expired.
"We had moments where we looked dangerous. We just have to figure out a way to be dangerous for longer stretches of time."
FLASH NUGGETS
Pyle's goal makes it nine points for her this season. She is now just one point shy of matching her career-high for points in a season of 10. The senior set that bar in 2022.
Pyle has doubled her goal tally from each of her first three seasons. She has four goals in 2024 and had two goals in each of her first three years.
Saint Francis' penalty kick marks their first penalty attempt and conversion of the season.
Sawich's 10-save performance marks the second time this season she has hit that number. She had 12 saves against Duquesne on Sept. 12.
NEXT UP
The Red Flash will be back at Stokes Soccerplex on Oct. 10 at 3:00 p.m. when they host FDU.
"We will use this off date to our advantage to recover both physically and mentally ahead of a tough match against FDU." Diaz said. "Time and time again our team has shown their willingness to react positively after a negative result. I am confident this group will do that again."
