New/Sortable Box Score |
Traditional Box Score (HTML)AMHERST, N.Y. – Behind goals from
Stephen Donnelly and
Dom Francis as well as five saves by
Steven Rerick, the Slippery Rock University men's soccer team returned to its winning way with a 2-1 victory against Daemen College Saturday afternoon at Dimp Wagner Stadium.
The win pushes The Rock's record to 2-2 on the year while Daemen falls to 1-2 with the loss.
Donnelly got Slippery Rock out to a fast start when he took a pass from
Mike Pcholinsky and placed his shot perfectly to the lower right corner of the goal to break the 0-0 tie 6:45 into the match. The Wildcats quickly responded less than three minutes later when Cole Beale received a corner and managed to beat Rerick with a quick strike to the lower left corner to even the game at 1-1.
The rest of the first half belonged to the defenses. The Rock successfully cleared five corners and fended off five shots, which included Rerick making a crucial save on a Beale penalty kick. Meanwhile, Daemen goalie Matt Daddario saved two shots on goal by Donnelly to send the contest into halftime at 1-1.
The defensive dominance continued well into the second half as Slippery Rock held Daemen to just one shot on goal, an attempt that Rerick quickly scooped up, and the Wildcats turned away three Rock shots on target in the form of saves on a
Josh Brake header and another Donnelly attempt as well as benefiting from a
Brandon Chiu shot hitting the post.
The momentum of the contest appeared to drastically shift to Daemen when SRU was forced to play a man down for the final 22:42 of the game after
Matt Sangermano was given a red card. However, Slippery Rock continued to preserve and finally broke through for the go-ahead score in the 82
nd minute when Francis got free and beat Daddario to the top left of the net. SRU did not allow a shot the rest of day en route to the 2-1 win.
The goals were the second of the season for both Donnelly and Francis while Pcholinsky's assist was the first of his career. Donnelly closed the afternoon with five shots, four of which were on goal. Rerick lowered his goals against average to 2.25 and raised his saver percentage to .750 in what was another solid showing.
Daemen held narrow advantages over SRU in both shots (12-10) and corners (8-7). Both teams registered six shots on goal.
Beale and Alex Reid attempted five shots each to pace Daemen in the defeat. Daddario played all 90 minutes in goal for the Wildcats, stopping four shots and allowing both goals.
Slippery Rock returns to action Sept. 20 at 1 p.m. when it opens up Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference competition on the road at California University (Pa.).
?
