GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The University of St. Francis men's soccer team (3-1-0) secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Cornerstone University (1-1-0) in a thrilling contest on Tuesday afternoon.  The Saints delivered a last-minute win thanks to a clutch goal by Ander Santamarta in the 88th minute.

First Half
In the first half, Cornerstone outshot St. Francis 5-4.  The Saints did end up striking first, however, in the 13th minute.  Senior midfielder Jesus Flores found the back of the net off a Dominik Barwiolek assist to give St. Francis a 1-0 lead.  But the Golden Eagles would find the equalizer a few minutes later, getting a shot past USF goalkeeper Fede Figueredo to tie things up 1-1 at the 17:12 mark.  The final 28 minutes of the half saw two more Saint shots, but both attempts fell short, keeping the score locked at the break.

Second Half
In the second half, the Golden Eagles were still on the attack, outshooting St. Francis, 4-1 in the first 30 minutes of play.  The Saints ignited their engines, however, in the last 15 minutes, totaling nine shot attempts with six on target.  USF assembled an open look in the 76th minute with an enticing chance to take the lead, but CU keeper Roberto Gutierrez would deny the attempt from junior forward Tony Njia.  Edward Luna would find an open opportunity two minutes later, but Gutierrez again halted the USF offensive attack.  The heroics would come with two minutes to play in regulation when senior midfielder Ander Santamarta sailed the game-winning goal into the back of the Golden Eagle net off a double assist from Njia and Anthony Derka.  The decisive goal, Santamarta's first of the season, would give the Saints the 2-1 lead and the storybook ending to the highly-competitive match.

Next Game
St. Francis will look to carry its momentum into Saturday (Sept. 7) when it will take the field at home versus Concordia University Chicago.  Kickoff is slated for 3 pm at Joliet Memorial Stadium.

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