Leavenworth, Kan.—Mario Santoro scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 80th minute, and the Spires held off Southwestern for a 2-1 conference victory Wednesday night.
Rylan Nowak put USM in front at 25:50, scoring an unassisted goal following a corner kick. The Spires nearly doubled the advantage about 10 minutes later, but
Alfie Scandle's attempt struck the crossbar. Saint Mary carried the 1-0 lead into halftime after limiting Southwestern to two shots in the opening 45 minutes.
Goalkeeper
Xavier Ezell helped protect that advantage with several important stops. Ezell denied Uhrig at 60:39 before Uhrig sent another attempt off the crossbar. He then stopped Hammar's on-target shot in the 71st minute. At the other end, Nowak had a shot cleared by the Southwestern defense at 66:29, and Guazzotti saved Scandle's follow-up five seconds later.
Santoro supplied the needed insurance at 79:54, finishing a chance created by a perfect pass from
Aaron Jackson to make it 2-0. The goal was Santoro's only shot on target among his team-high four attempts, while Jackson recorded the match's lone assist. Ezell followed with two more saves against Anderson in the 81st and 83rd minutes.
The Moundbuilders cut the margin to one when Lopez converted a penalty kick at 84:04, but the Spires protected the lead through the final whistle. USM finished with a 13-10 advantage in shots, including a 10-8 edge in the second half, while both teams placed seven attempts on goal. Ezell completed the victory with six saves, and Nowak and Scandle each put two shots on target.
Coming Up…
USM will have a weekend on the road to McPherson, Kansas to take on the McPherson College Bulldogs this Saturday, September 26
th. The men are slated for a 4:30 p.m. kick off at Paul Family Field.
