BROOKLYN, NY – The St. Francis College Brooklyn men's soccer team (6-4-1, 2-3-0 NEC) earned a thrilling 3-0 victory over Bryant (6-5-0, 3-2-0 NEC) on Friday night at Poly Prep Country Day School.
The Terriers have won both of their home matches that have been played at Poly Prep and have outscored opponents, 6-1, in those contests. St. Francis earned its first win at Poly Prep this season on September 21, when it knocked off Manhattan, 3-1, in non-conference play.
The Terriers improved to (6-0-3) against Bryant dating back to October 27, 2013. St. Francis has won three-straight matches against the Bulldogs dating to October 30, 2017.
The Terriers came out aggressive in the first half and controlled the pace of play over the first 45 minutes of the contest. In the first half alone, St. Francis outshot Bryant, 12-2, and for the match shots were, 15-8, in favor of the Terriers. St. Francis sent eight balls on target, while Bryant got three balls on net.
After the Terriers took a two-goal lead in the first half, they locked in on defense and stymied the Bryant offensive attack, who was only able to record three shots on target. St. Francis' backline stood strong as Bryant came out firing in the second half as it outshot the Terriers 9-3 in the frame. Freshman goalkeeper
Callum James picked up his third win of the season and fourth clean sheet.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
St. Francis Brooklyn – 3 | Bryant – 0
- The Terriers struck in the 27th minute when the team's leading scorer, sophomore forward El Mahdi Youssoufi found the back of the net for the sixth time this season. His six goals are tied for the most in the conference. Youssoufi corralled an errant free kick by Bryant's goalkeeper Will Swart and dished the ball to junior forward Nicolas Molina who passed it back to Youssoufi who dribbled the ball down field and ripped a shot from 12 yards that went past Swart to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead.
- Just three minutes later in the 30th minute, senior midfielder Rahmi Shawki scored his first goal of the season on a picture-perfect ball from junior defender Yoann Assoumin. Assoumin played a ball into the box from the 30-yard line and found a streaking Shawki who snuck behind the Bulldogs' backline. Shawki drilled the ball into the back of the net on a one-timer, which gave the Terriers a 2-0 advantage. The assist was the first of the season for Assoumin.
- Junior defender Vicente Gallardo put the game out of reach as he tallied his first goal as a Terrier in the 88th minute off a cross from junior defender Edoardo Belfanti. Belfanti notched his second assist of the season on the score.
- James earned his fourth clean sheet of his young collegiate career. The freshman faced 11 shots and made three saves.
- Senior defender Marco Torriani made his season debut this evening as he logged 13 minutes of play.
UP NEXT:
St. Francis is set to host Robert Morris on Sunday, October 20, at 2 p.m., from Poly Prep Country Day School.
