Men's Soccer | 11/8/2025 9:45:00 AM

Sunday, November 9 | CCSU | Loretto, Pa. | Stokes Soccerplex | 2 p.m. | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO 

OPENING PITCH VS CCSU
Saint Francis men's soccer will play its final regular season NEC match of the season Sunday as it hosts CCSU at Stokes Soccerplex at 2 p.m. Saint Francis will also be celebrating its seniors with festivities before the game. The Red Flash will be matching up with CCSU for the 33rd time in the all-time series.

THANK YOU, SENIORS!
Saint Francis would like to thank seniors Mitchell Auer, Andre Isreal, Thiago Pires, and Braeden Sorenson for their hard work and dedication to Saint Francis and the men's soccer program during their time in Loretto. 

THE WORD ON THE BLUE DEVILS
CCSU enters Sunday's match with a 1-13-2 overall record and a 1-6-1 record in NEC play, sitting ninth currently in NEC standings. 

In most recent outings, the Blue Devils fell to Le Moyne in a 3-0 shutout, were defeated by Mercyhurst 3-1, and defeated Chicago State in a 2-1 win.

CCSU offensively has netted 11 goals over all and six in conference compared to its opponents total of 35, with 188 shots on goal. Leading scorers for the Blue Devils include Alvaro Moros, Santiago Marin Gutierrez, and Anthony Catanzaro each with two of their own. 

Between the three goalkeepers, 84 saves have been made. Freshman, Brio Levitt, leads with 35 saves with six games started and eight games played. 

LAST TIME OUT 
Saint Francis and Stonehill matched up Thursday, October 30. The Red Flash fell to the Skyhawks 2-0 on the rainy afternoon.

Stonehill, just 22 minutes into the match, found the back of the net giving the Skyhawks an early lead. The Red Flash tested Stonehill's defense throughout the first half with five shots on goal. During the second half, the Skyhawks took nine shots before putting another one between the posts giving them a 2-0 at the 63-minute mark. The Red Flash could not equalize and was out shot 24-24 and 13-5 with shots on goal.

Diego Garciarena kept Stonehill from taking a larger lead with 11 key saves in goal with 24 shots faced.

Brendan French made his first Red Flash start during the Stonehill matchup. The sophomore recorded 36 minutes on the pitch.

NEXT TIME OUT 
Saint Francis men's soccer will play in its first playoff match of the post season at Stokes Soccerplex on Thursday at 1 p.m.

NEC HONORS
Freshman, Harry Elmore, and senior, Garciarena, were recognized the week Oct. 27th at Rookie of the Week and Player of the Week. Elmore earned his first collegiate honor after scoring the game-winning goal—and his first collegiate goal—in the second minute of the match. The decisive strike came on a brilliant team counterattack initiated by Julian Quiroga, with Thero Mitchell III finding Elmore on the run for a composed finish inside the box. The freshman nearly doubled the Red Flash lead midway through the first half with a deflected shot that narrowly missed the crossbar, continuing to make an impact in his debut campaign. Garciarena was sensational in goal, setting a new career high with 13 saves to record his third shutout of the season and help the Red Flash clinch a postseason berth for the fourth-straight year. He made multiple key stops in each half, including a diving save in the 52nd minute and two crucial late-game denials in the 76th and 86th minutes to preserve the 1–0 lead against FDU. Through 10 starts this season, Garciarena has logged 900 minutes in net with 40 saves, three shutouts, and a 1.50 goals-against average, continuing to anchor one of the NEC's top defensive units.

For the week of Oct. 22, three Red Flash standouts, Álvaro Planas, Diego Garciarena, and Alex De Nittis, were recognized as NEC Prime Performers. Planas struck twice in the victory over New Haven, finding the net twice in a two-minute span, and added a shot on goal in the loss at Howard. Through 13 games this season, he has 4 goals, 2 assists, 10 points, 11 shots, and 5 shots on goal. This marks his third career NEC Prime Performer honor and his second of the 2025 season. 

De Nittis recorded a career-best five points in the 5–1 win over New Haven, scoring twice and adding an assist. His performance capped a three-match scoring streak that ended at Howard, where he still produced four shots, including one on goal. De Nittis currently leads the NEC in points per game (1.43) and ranks second in game-winning goals with two. Over seven appearances this season, he has scored against LIU, Chicago State, and New Haven, making this his second career NEC Prime Performer selection. 

Saint Francis goalkeeper Diego Garciarena was recognized by the NEC for the week of Oct. 13 following his shutout performance in a 2–0 road win over Chicago State. The junior continues to be a steady presence for the Red Flash, anchoring a defense that has delivered multiple strong outings in recent weeks. 

Freshman forward Thero Mitchell III was named NEC Co-Player of the Week, Rookie of the Week, and a Prime Performer for the week of Oct. 6. Mitchell has been a key offensive presence for the Red Flash, scoring in back-to-back conference matches to help Saint Francis remain unbeaten in league play through three games. 

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. 

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.  

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.