Syracuse, N.Y. – The Saint Francis University Red Flash erased a 1-0 second-half deficit to claim a 2-1 win over the Le Moyne College men's soccer team Sunday at Ted Grant Field in the NEC opener for both sides.
Graduate forward
Francesco Pagano (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius/Syracuse/Coastal Carolina) put away his second goal of the season for the Dolphins in the 52
nd minute off an assist from graduate midfielder
Antonino Pagano (Manlius, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius/Syracuse/Coastal Carolina), but the Red Flash equalized less than five minutes later as graduate midfielder Thiago Pires headed home a cross from junior forward Álvaro Planas.
Planas then provided the winning goal for the visitors in the 78
th minute off a feed from freshman midfielder Harry Elmore.
SFU outshot the Dolphins 12-10 during the 90 minutes, and held the advantage in shots on goal by a tally of 7-3. Both sides took six shots during the second half.
Pagano recorded a team-high three shots for Le Moyne, with sophomore defender
Andrew Piccolo (Toronto, Ontario/Michael Power-St. Joseph) and redshirt-sophomore forward
Felix Ludemann (Wrestedt, Germany/Herzog-Ernst-Gymnasium Uelzen) both recording one shot on goal on two total attempts each.
With one goal and one assist on Sunday, Planas tallied three points in a match for the first time in his career.
Le Moyne junior goalkeeper
Wyatt Dupell (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) recorded five saves during the setback, marking the third consecutive match that he has registered at least five saves.
Pagano had his first attacking opportunity of the day in the 27
th minute as he corralled a pass at the top of the 18-yard box and ripped a left-footed shot that was block by an SFU defender.
Following a long free kick in the 41
st minute, freshman defender
Mattia Boldrini (Sesto Fiorentino, Italy/Istituto Giovanni Paolo II) drove a pass through a group of players across the six-yard box for freshman forward
Anthony Patone (Pointe-Clair, Quebec/John Rennie), whose one-time shot went over the crossbar.
The score remained tied 0-0 at halftime.
The Dolphins created a promising opportunity within the first minute of the second half as Piccolo won the ball near midfield, turned around a defender and carried the ball toward Le Moyne's attacking third. Piccolo sent a pass down the left wing for
Antonino Pagano, who used his first touch to send the ball back towards the middle of the penalty area for Piccolo who placed a low right-footed shot on goal that was saved by SFU junior goalkeeper Diego Garciarena.
In the 52
nd minute,
Antonino Pagano collected a loose ball near midfielder and sent a pass into space down the right channel for
Francesco Pagano. With two defenders in close pursuit, Pagano carried the ball into the right side of the penalty area and drove a right-footed shot that got past the goalkeeper and hit the back the of the net to put Le Moyne in front, 1-0.
In the 56
th minute, Planas made a run down the left wing and crossed the ball towards the edge of the six-yard box where Pires forcefully headed it into the left side of the net to tie the contest at 1-1.
The Red Flash went ahead for good in the 78
th minute as Elmore made a run into the left side of the Le Moyne penalty area and sent a pass to his right for Planas who placed his right-footed shot into the bottom left corner of the goal.
SFU nearly doubled its lead with 6:40 remaining in the second half as sophomore midfielder Jonah Wolf found himself open in the right side of the Le Moyne penalty area, but Dupell came off his line and stopped the shot at point-blank range.
Ludemann recorded a shot on goal for Le Moyne in the 86
th minute, but the Dolphins were unable to equalize, and SFU closed out the win to capture three points on the first day of NEC play.
Le Moyne will return to action on Thursday with a 7:00 p.m. conference match at Howard University.
