Red Flash Men’s Soccer Host LIU In NEC Clash Sunday

Men's Soccer | 10/4/2025 10:02:00 AM

The Saint Francis Red Flash return to Stokes Soccerplex on Sunday, Oct. 5, hosting Long Island University at 3:00 p.m.

SFU looks to continue their strong start in conference play and carry momentum from recent wins into this key NEC matchup. The Red Flash hold a 3–2–1 advantage in the all-time series since 2019.

This game presents an opportunity to keep the winning record overall against LIU intact since 2019 and another chance to defend Stokes Soccerplex in back-to-back home game affairs.

THE WORD ON THE SHARKS

Saint Francis University will host Long Island University on Sunday at Stokes Soccerplex in a key Northeast Conference matchup.

LIU enters the contest with a 3–1–5 overall record and a 0–0–1 mark in league play, coming off a scoreless draw in its most recent outing. The Sharks have scored 10 goals in nine games, led by Niklas Thanhofer (4 goals, 1 assist), Jack Stainrod (1 goal, 4 assists) and Tal Levy (2 goals).

In goal, Alex Bobocea and Andrew Marotta combined to allow seven goals while making 34 saves, good for a .829 save percentage.

LAST TIME WE MET

Saint Francis men's soccer fell 4-1 to LIU in the NEC Semifinals on Oct. 5, 2024, at Stokes Soccerplex. The Red Flash struck first in the second half when Joschi Schelb converted a penalty kick for his 10th goal of the season, briefly leveling the match. LIU quickly regained the lead eight minutes later and added two more goals over the remainder of the half to secure the victory.

Saint Francis out-shot LIU 12-10 and held 57% of possession, with Niclas Becker making two saves. Despite multiple scoring opportunities from Schelb, Jonah Wolf, Torren Aikens, and Jacob Adams, the Red Flash could not convert, allowing LIU to advance.

Schelb finished the season with 10 goals and eight assists, the fifth-highest points total in program history. The defeat ended Saint Francis' long home unbeaten streak against NEC opponents, which had spanned 14 matches dating back to October 2022.

NEXT TIME OUT
Saint Francis will hit the road for its next match, traveling to Chicago to face Chicago State on Thursday, Oct. 9. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST) at Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep.

The Red Flash will look to build momentum on the road before returning home to Stokes Soccerplex on Oct. 16.

LAST TIME OUT
Saint Francis earned its first shutout of the season with a 1–0 win over Mercyhurst in its NEC home debut.

Freshman Thero Mitchell III netted the game-winner on a header off a Jonah Wolf cross, with Carson Krushansky picking up his first collegiate assist.

Diego Garciarena made a key first-half save to help the Red Flash secure the clean sheet.
NEC HONORS
Jonah Wolf was recognized as an NEC Prime Performer of the Week on Sept. 15. Wolf turned in a standout performance in Saint Francis' 3–3 draw at Loyola Maryland, recording his first career goal and adding an assist.

Álvaro Planas was recognized as an NEC Prime Performer of the Week on Sept. 29. Planas delivered a clutch performance in Saint Francis' 2–1 road win at Le Moyne, recording the game-winning goal and assisting Red Flash's first score to help secure the conference-opening victory.

PRESEASON POLL
Saint Francis men's soccer was picked fifth in the NEC Preseason Poll. Mercyhurst, which won the NEC regular season, and LIU, which won the NEC Tournament, have been selected as co-preseason favorites after LIU earned three first-place votes and Mercyhurst garnered five. FDU picked up the remaining two top votes, while Le Moyne, Saint Francis, Stonehill, New Haven, Howard, Chicago State, and CCSU rounded out the poll. Mercyhurst and New Haven are both ineligible for the postseason.

INTERNATIONAL FLARE
Head coach Mads Kaiser has nine players that have come from outside the United States: Volkan Celikkol (Turkey), Alex De Nittis(Germany), Harry Elmore (England), Alejandro Escobar (Columbia), Diego Garciarena (Paraguay), Álvaro Planas (Spain), Julian Quiroga(Bolivia), Harvey Skurek (England), Mika Wernicke (Germany) and Jonah Wolf (Germany).

ABOUT THE COACH
Mads Kaiser begins his third season as the Red Flash men's soccer head coach. In his first season, Saint Francis was the only NCAA Division I team to finish undefeated with a 7-0-8 record and won the NEC regular season. Saint Francis is 14-7-10 overall and 10-2-3 in NEC play. The Red Flash hosted an NEC Semifinals Game in his first two years. He was an assistant in Loretto for two seasons prior to his elevation as head coach.

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