LORETTO, Pa. - Saint Francis men's soccer saw their 2024 season come to an end after a 4-1 loss to LIU in the NEC Semifinals on Thursday afternoon. 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

>> Joschi Schelb converted a penalty kick for his 10th goal of the season.

>> The Red Flash out-shot the Sharks 12-10 and held the majority of possession at 57%. 

>> Niclas Becker made a pair of saves in the match. 

TURNING POINTS OF THE GAME
LIU found the opener just 26 seconds into the match to take control early.

Schelb's penalty leveled things up just six minutes after halftime.

The Sharks reclaimed the lead eight minutes later and would add two more goals to their lead throughout the rest of the second half.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After conceding early, the Red Flash dominated possession of the ball for much of the opening period. 

Torren Aikens nearly found an equalizer in the 26th minute off of a corner kick, but his header sailed over the crossbar.

Schelb and Jonah Wolf both had chances to even things up in the final 10 minutes of the half, but neither could convert their chances.

Saint Francis entered halftime with a 1-0 deficit, but they carried a wave of momentum that continued into the early portions of the second half.

Alex De Nittis drew a foul inside the box, setting up Schelb for a penalty kick. Schelb blasted his shot into the top left corner, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance of saving it and putting the Red Flash back on equal footing.

Becker made an impressive diving save in the 55th minute to keep the match level, but the Sharks would go back in front in the 59th minute.

Jacob Adams nearly leveled things again in the 68th minute with a high-arching shot that landed on top of the net, just missing the crossbar.

Maximus Rigby fired a shot from roughly 25 yards out just three minutes later, but his strike sailed high of the net.

After conceding the third goal, Schelb nearly swung the momentum back in Saint Francis' favor thanks to a gorgeous feed from Fabian Wagner. Only a last-ditch effort by LIU to block the shot kept Schelb from netting a brace.

The Sharks scored one more goal in the 82nd minute and would see out the win.

FLASH NUGGETS
Schelb is the first Saint Francis player to score 10 goals in a season since Lucas Rosa scored 11 in 2019.

Schelb's final points tally of 28 is the fifth highest scoring season in program history and the most in a season since 1992.

Schelb's eight assists on the year are tied for the third most in a season in school history and the most since Patrick Fleming tallied eight assists back in 2010.

The loss marks the end of an incredible unbeaten run at home against conference opponents for the Red Flash. Saint Francis had not lost in any of their last 14 home matches against NEC opponents. The last time they lost to an NEC team at home was on Oct. 2, 2022.