Leavenworth, Kan.— Luis Rincon scored the eventual game-winning goal at 32:11 as the University of Saint Mary defeated Evangel (MO) 3-1 in an exciting conference match up Wednesday, October 28. Mario Santoro would find the back of the net twice for the Spires.

USM applied pressure before breaking through midway through the first half. Lucas Meneses had a shot stopped by Sydney's defensive save at 11:43, and Kim made another defensive save against Aaron Jackson at 15:47. Santoro opened the scoring with a penalty kick at 24:48.

Spire goalkeeper Xavier Ezell protected the 1-0 advantage by saving Santos' header at 28:44. Rincon then finished off an assist from Damon Walter to put the Spires ahead 2-0. The Spires carried that lead into halftime after out shooting Evangel 10-2 and earning a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks.

USM answered two early second-half challenges to maintain the two-goal cushion. Ezell stopped David Gonifas' shot at 46:05, and Saint Mary was credited with a team defensive save on Santos' attempt at 52:26.

Alfie Scandle struck the crossbar at 75:06 before Santoro extended the lead to 3-0 just 50 seconds later, scoring on an assist from Rylan Nowak. Santoro put all three of his shots on goal, while Rincon and Jackson each placed both of their attempts on target. Santos converted a penalty kick at 88:05 for Evangel's only goal.

USM finished with an 18-6 advantage in shots, an 11-4 edge in shots on goal and a 7-2 margin in corner kicks. Meneses matched Santoro with three shots, while Nowak and Matias Allou added two apiece. The victory moved the Spires to 8-3-1 in conference play and fifth in the KCAC standings with just one regular season match remaining.
 
 
Coming Up…

The Spires will close out the 2026 regular season at home in Berkel Memorial with a Halloween Weekend Triple Header. The USM men will kick off at 8:00 p.m. against the Bethel College Threshers on Saturday, October 31^st following the conclusion of Spire football and women's soccer that same afternoon.