LORETTO, Pa. - The Niagara Purple Eagles were held scoreless by the Saint Francis Red Flash on Sunday afternoon, 2-0.
Saint Francis' Mario Mastrangelo scored off his own rebound in the 25
th minute to give the Red Flash the 1-0 advantage. Mastrangelo led Saint Francis with eight shots on the day.
Niagara looked to snag the equalizer before halftime, but the shot by freshman forward
Alex Dimitriu sailed over the net in the 39
th minute.
Ryan Myers recorded the first shot on goal for the Purple Eagles in the 52
nd minute, but Saint Francis keeper Marcus Rojas was able to make the save.
The Red Flash took a 2-0 lead in the 57
th minute as Francis de Vries found the top right corner of the net off a free kick. Saint Francis aimed for its third tally in the 83
rd minute, but was denied when a shot by Dominic Ramirez hit the crossbar followed by an attempt from Jack Webber that rattled off the post just seconds later.
Niagara threatened with a late push for a goal in the final seconds of the match. Myers and
Fabrizio Chiari fired back-to-back shots on target, but Rojas turned away both attempts to preserve the shutout.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Joel Gerberich made a career-high nine saves in the contest.
Niagara (0-6-0) returns to the pitch on Friday, Sept. 18 for a home match against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies at 7 p.m.
Stay connected with the Purple Eagles through social media. Follow Niagara Athletics on Twitter
@NUPurpleEagles and men's soccer updates at
@NiagaraSoccer. Check in with the Purple Eagles on
Facebook/PurpleEagles and on Instagram
@NUPurpleEagles.