ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. –The St. Bonaventure University men's soccer team (1-6) will face two Little Three rivals this weekend, hoping to build on the momentum of their first victory of the season last Sunday. The Bonnies will travel to Buffalo to face Canisius (5-1-2) at 7 p.m. on Friday and then welcome Niagara (4-0-3) to McGraw-Jennings Field at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The Brown and White defeated St. Francis (Pa.) in the team's home opener 1-0 in overtime. The game-winning goal came with a St. Francis (Pa.) own goal in the 95th minute. Through seven games, junior defender Brad Beaumont, sophomore defender Garrett Pasono, senior midfielder Adam Scott and junior midfielder Brad Vanino share the team lead in scoring with two points each.
Canisius enters Friday night's game after Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) snapped their seven-game unbeaten streak, defeating the Golden Griffins 5-1 at the UNLV Nike Invitational. Senior forward Gavin Falconer, a Waterford, Ireland native, leads the team in scoring through the first eight games with seven goals and three assists. Falconer scored his first career goal on a free kick against the Bonnies. St. Bonaventure has a 23-10-7 record against Canisius. The Golden Griffins have a 2-0-1 home record this season.
Niagara arrives at McGraw-Jennings Field following a 3-0 road win at Wright State and a Friday night match against St. Francis (Pa.). Qualifiers of six of the last seven conference tournaments, Niagara hopes to build on the 9-4-5 record it posted in head coach Chris Brooks' first season, finishing fourth the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Bonnies have a 28-13-3 record against the Purple Eagles.
Sophomore forward Callum Willmott, a Iver, England native, leads the team in scoring with three goals and an assist. Senior goalkeeper Brett Petricek set a school record with a 0.77 goals against average mark and eight shutouts and tied a school record with nine wins. This season, Petricek has 0.66 goals against average.
Following this weekend's games, St. Bonaventure will host Siena on Sunday, Sept. 30 at McGraw-Jennings field at 1 p.m.
Follow @Go_Bonnies and @BonniesMSoccer on Twitter for updates during each game.
