Slippery Rock University senior forward Dom Francis scored the game-winning goal in the 82nd minute to give SRU a 2-1 victory of Daemen College Saturday.
“The performance wasn’t very good,” Rock head coach Andy Hoggarth said. “We felt as though it was a game we should have controlled and maybe we let our foot off of the pedal a little bit. But, at the end of the day, a win is a win and sometimes you just need to go into a place and get a win and that is pretty much all we did.”
The Green and White got off to a fast start when sophomore midfielder Mike Pcholinsky set up the first goal of the game with a pass to senior forward Stephen Donnelly in the sixth minute of competition. Daemen was quick to respond, tying the game up less than three minutes later when sophomore Cole Beale beat Rock sophomore goalkeeper Steven Rerick with a quick strike to the left corner of the net after a corner kick.
The game would remain tied until the 82nd minute when Francis broke free of Daemen defenders and scored the game-winner on a breakaway. The goals scored by Francis and Donnelly were each players second goals of the season.
Despite getting the victory, SRU was forced to play the majority of the game with just 10 players after sophomore forward Matt Sangermano was forced to exit the game by receiving a red card with 23 minutes remaining in the contest.
Daemen was able to get off more shots than SRU, having 12 total shots attempted, with six being on target. The Rock was able to get off 10 shots during the game, also having six shots being on target. Donnelly led the team with five shots, followed by Francis and senior defender Josh Brake with two shots apiece. Senior midfielder Brandon Chiu was also able to add one shot to the Rock’s shot total.
Rerick played the entire 90 minutes of the game as the Rock’s goalie, making five saves, and allowing just one shot through.
SRU’s record improves to 2-2, while Daemen fell to 1-2.
The Green and White will get their first chance at Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action of the season this Saturday against California University of Pennsylvania (1-2-1) in California, Pennsylvania.
