Saint Francis Downs Defiance 9-2 in Home Opener
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Defiance College (OH) (0-3-0, 0-1-0) | 2 | 0 | 2 |
|
Saint Francis (Ind.) (1-2-0, 0-0-0) | 5 | 4 | 9 |
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The University of Saint Francis (Ind.) men's soccer team picked up their first win of the season in the Cougars' dominating 9-2 win over Defiance at Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium on Tuesday, August 27.
Just over four minutes into the first half of Tuesday night's game, Defiance took a 1-0 lead after Tyler Fritchley netted a goal. The Cougars then tied the game up 1-1 after Mika Leib connected with Enrique Subirán to get Subirán's first goal of the season. Less than a minute later, Joshua Boschveld found the back of the net to put the Cougars up 2-1. Nicolás Balbin assisted on USF's second goal of the night. Subirán connected with Jai Van Lim with 23:56 on the clock to put Saint Francis up 3-1. Subirán was not done yet, as the senior scored his second goal of the night, assisted by Unax Mendia, with just over 15 minutes left to play in the first half. Less than five minutes later, the Yellow Jackets were able to sneak by the USF defense to score their second goal of the night and cut the Cougars' lead to two. Paul Scheifele netted his first goal of the season in the 42 minute, assisted by Subirán, to send the Cougars to the locker room up 5-2 at the half.
USF's offense stayed hot, with the Cougars firing off four shots in the opening minutes of the second half. Freshman Imtiyaaz Kamaldien also netted his first goal of the season in the 62nd minute to put USF up 6-2. Balbin earned his second assist of the night on the Cougars' sixth goal. The Cougars struck again in the 75th minute, with Paul Scheifele finding Rafael Flores for a Flores goal to increase USF's lead to five. Saint Francis would score two more times, once by Rodrigo Silveira in the 79th minute and again in the 83rd minute by Luis Miguel Parodi to secure the dominating 9-2 victory over Defiance and improve to 1-2 on the young season.
As a team, USF outshot Defiance 30-7, with 16 of those shots landing on goal. Eight different Cougars scored goals in Tuesday night's game. Subirán led the team with two goals and two assists. Balbin also contributed two assists. Jannik Reiss picked up the win in goal for the Cougars with two saves.
Up next, USF men's soccer (1-2-0) will travel to Livonia, Michigan for a road match against Madonna University on Saturday, August 31. Saint Francis' next home game is slated for September 11 against Lourdes University.
Cougar fans can stay updated on all events and recaps with USF Athletics by visiting saintfranciscougars.com.
