Leavenworth, Kan.— Mario Santoro scored the go-ahead goal at 35:12 and finished with a hat trick as the University of Saint Mary (6-5-3) defeated York (NE) (9-4-1) 4-1 in conference men's soccer Saturday, October 17th, in Leavenworth, Kansas. The Spires scored twice in each half to cap off an incredibly successful day on a beautiful afternoon to celebrate USM Senior Day.

Santoro opened the scoring at 7:55 on an assist from Gabriel Carrillo. York pulled even at 32:27 when Schafer scored off a feed from Brereton, but the Spires regained the lead less than three minutes later. Watt saved a Lucas Meneses header before Santoro scored an unassisted goal four seconds later for a 2-1 advantage. The Spires carried that lead into halftime after out shooting York 10-3.

Matias Allou assisted Santoro's third goal at 61:39, pushing the margin to 3-1. Santoro finished with seven shots, including four on goal, in 80 minutes. Luis Rincon completed the scoring with an unassisted goal at 73:39, converting the only shot Rincon took during 47 minutes of play.

Goalkeeper Xavier Ezell helped protect the lead as YU generated 11 shots after halftime. Ezell stopped Schafer at 62:01 and Pablot at 62:33, preventing an immediate response to Santoro's third goal. Two more saves against Pablot at 89:02 and 89:13 capped a nine-save performance over the full 90 minutes. Seven of Ezell's saves came in the second half, and the Spires also recorded one team save.

Rylan Nowak added six shots, two on goal, while Aaron Jackson put both attempts on target as the Spires finished with an 18-14 shooting advantage. Both teams recorded 11 shots on goal, and the Panthers held a 7-3 edge in corner kicks. Watt made four saves for York, with Soh contributing three defensive saves. The Spire men currently sit sixth overall in the KCAC standings.
 
Coming Up…

Spire soccer looks forward to a week on the road starting with a quick cross-town trip to Missouri to face the Avila University Eagles on Wednesday, October 21^st. The USM men will kick off before the women this time with the midweek match slated for noon at The Z on the Eagles campus.