CINCINATTI, Ohio – James Reed added his second goal of the season, but freshman Emmett O'Connor served as the difference in St. Bonaventure's (8-6-0, 3-2-0 Atlantic 10) 2-1 win in a crucial road contest tonight against the Xavier Musketeers.
The Bonnies got on the board in the 12th minute as Reed converted senior Chris Leko's pass across the right side of the box into the goal to give the team a 1-0 lead.
From there, the Brown and White padded to their lead as O'Connor scored the eventual game winner in the 73rd minute. Classmate Brad Vanino started the play, and senior Brett Allen (pictured) sent a quick pass to the Ajax, Ont., native who deposited the ball past netminder Justin Marshall to give the Bonnies a 2-0 lead.
"He's a very talented forward," head coach Mel Mahler said of his freshman striker. "He's a dangerous attacking 1-on-1 player, he's proven he has the ability to finish and even more so is that he plays end-to-end and gets back to help us defend."
Xavier got within one goal with just seven minutes to play when James Getzen scored his second goal of the season for the Musketeers, but could muster no closer.
"I thought it was a typical A-10 battle with two teams just leaving everything on the field looking for three points," head coach Mel Mahler said. "It was an environment similar to a conference championship match, and it really was the type of situation where if you lose you go home."
The Bonnies were able to avoid the going home part as they jumped all the way to the tie for 3rd in the A-10 with nine points. The top six teams advance to the A-10 tournament in November at host Charlotte.
"I thought we did a great job in getting a second goal to protect the lead and hold on from there," Mahler added. "Coming off the Fordham match where we gave up two goals to lose to them, I think this was a good step in the right direction for us."
Additionally, Mahler was quick to defend his defenders as being a key cog in the team's success not only against Xavier but all season.
"I think one of the unsung heroes has been Brett Allen," Mahler commented. "He does a lot of the work in the midfield and a lot of stuff that goes unnoticed. I think he's been very instrumental in getting balls (to our freshmen) for them to do their thing. He and Chris Leko have both been very important in that matter."
Just as they did last weekend, the Bonnies will travel into their second A-10 road game on Sunday coming off a Friday night win; however, the team – and Mahler – are looking for different results this time around.
"I think it's a must win," Mahler said of his team's 1 p.m. Sunday match against Dayton. "We have to prove to ourselves that we can come back and be successful … I think all games are must wins at this time, and we want to prove that we're on the right side of the (playoff) bubble."
