Box Score Saint Mary of the Woods, Ind. – The University of St. Francis men's soccer team came out on top against Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (Ind.) on Wednesday with a 5-2 victory.  It was the season opener for the Fighting Saints, as well as the USF head coaching debut of Nigel Dillard.

Recap
The Saints (1-0-0) controlled the affair, holding a 13-8 shot advantage over the Pomeroys (0-2-0), as well as a 9-7 lead in corner kicks in the match.  Senior Pablo Rubio Guerra led all players in taking a team-high four shots and junior transfer goalkeeper Fede Figueredo collected his first three career saves as a Fighting Saint.  The USF defense locked down the back of the pitch as SMWC saw only five shot-on-goal scoring opportunities on the day.

First Half  
Coming off of a strong preseason, the Saints were looking to carry the momentum over early in Wednesday's game.  USF created plenty of chances to score as the Saints shot seven times with six coming on goal.  After being denied with saves by SMWC goalkeeper Harry Jackson on his first two attempts, Rubio Guerra connected for a 17th-minute strike on his third try to lift the Saints to a 1-0 lead.  St. Francis would net two more goals off the feet of senior Dominik Barwiolek at 19:35 and freshman Antwan Esparza at 37:34 to go into the break with a 3-0 advantage.  Barwiolek, Ander Santamarta, and Santos Contreras would register assists on the three goals, respectively.

Second Half  
The Saints continued to be aggressive in the beginning of the second half, needing just five minutes to get a shot past Jackson and into the net.  Edward Luna, a senior out of Gurnee, Ill., was credited with the goal on an assist from senior Jesus Flores in the 50th minute to widen St. Francis' lead to 4-0.  After being stifled by USF's tight defense for almost 60 minutes, the Pomeroys were finally able to break through and connect on back-to-back goals in the 50th and 73rd minutes to cut the Saints' lead to 4-2.  USF responded by staying on the attack and continued to put pressure on the SMWC backfield.  The strategy worked and in the final five minutes of play, junior transfer Tony Njia provided the final goal in the 86th minute to close out the match and send St. Francis onto its first win of the season.  

Games Notes  

• The St. Francis offense was in complete control on Wednesday as the Saints took 13 shots with 11 coming on goal, while the USF defense held Saint Mary of the Woods to only five direct shots in the full 90 minutes.  
• Rubio Guerra scored his first goal of the season and the 19th of his career.
• Barwiolek registered both a goal and an assist in the contest.
• Graduate transfer Victor Sellu played a solid game on defense, blocking two shots and intercepting numerous SMWC potential attacks.
• Wednesday's match was the second all-time meeting between the two teams and the Saints remain a perfect 2-0 against the Pomeroys dating back to 2023.  In the two times that the two teams have met, St. Francis has scored five goals in each contest, posting a score of 5-0 one year ago. 

Next Game
The St. Francis men's soccer team will take the field again on Saturday, August 24 in a non-conference match against Wheaton College at 4:00 pm in Wheaton, Ill. The game will be the first ever face-off between the two squads in the 43-year history of men's soccer at USF.

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