PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The men's soccer team (7-5-0, 2-1-0 Atlantic 10) netted three goals in the first 30 minutes of the game, and behind a career night from freshman Emmett O'Connor and the strength of its defense shut down La Salle (3-5-2, 1-1-0) the rest of the way en route to its second straight win this evening, 3-0.
O'Connor tallied his second career goal in the 13th minute when he turned a La Salle miscue into a breakaway on keeper John McCarthy. McCarthy was able to make the initial save, but O'Connor deposited the game-winner in the back of the net to give the Bonnies a 1-0 lead.
Just over five minutes after that, O'Connor crossed a ball from the right wing to classmate Brad Vanino. Vanino centered the ball back to senior midfielder Chris Leko, who beat McCarthy for his second goal of the campaign.
The Bonnies concluded their scoring in the 28th minute when freshman Brad Beaumont finished his second career goal off a cross once again from O'Connor. Senior Brett Allen sent a ball forward to O'Connor, who crossed the ball onto Beaumont's foot, and the Courtice, Ont., native didn't miss. The assist gave O'Connor his career-high fourth point of the night.
"His goal was just a great individual effort," head coach Mel Mahler said. "I thought he had a pretty special night."
From there it was up to the St. Bonaventure defense in front of netminder David Flynn, who earned his fourth shutout of the year and 18th of his career. However, the senior was rarely tested – he made just three saves – as a result of the backline in front of him.
"I thought Kevin Okapal did a great individual man-on-man marking job of (Ryan) Richter," Mahler said of his senior defender. "He just shut him down for the night, and I think he's (Richter) a pretty special player and that's something we can definitely take from this game."
Heading into tonight's matchup, Richter led the A-10 in shots, points and goals, and had scored four goals in his last three games.
The Bonnies will have little time to rest as they face their first A-10 road turnaround of the season when they travel to the Bronx to face Fordham on Sunday afternoon. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m., and Mahler hopes his club can capitalize on this win against a Fordham club which tonight shutout Duquesne, 1-0.
"We're a little banged up and have under a 48-hour window to take care of some injuries and get our legs back to prepare for what I believe is one of the best defending teams in the conference," Mahler said. "It's going to be a difficult challenge for us, but we're looking forward to it. Hopefully we can build off the momentum we created tonight and pick up where we left off."
Game Notes: Wind played a factor in the game as it gusted up to 23 mph … despite being out-shot, 14-11, the Bonnies put more shots on frame (eight) than La Salle (three), forcing McCarthy to make five saves … two yellow cards were issued in the game, both to La Salle in the second half … the win increases the Bonnies point total to six.
