ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – Senior Rashid Aroza's goal in the 44th minute proved to be the difference as the St. Bonaventure University men's soccer team captured a 3-1 victory over Davidson Saturday evening at the Marra Athletics Complex.
Saturday's win gives the Bonnies (4-5-2, 1-1-1 A-10) three points in the Atlantic 10 standings and pushes their home unbeaten streak to four games.
Just before halftime with the score tied 1-1, Gabriel Addo found Dean Mercer in the middle of the field and Mercer played a ball to Aroza making a run through the defense. Aroza collected the pass and slotted the ball past the goalkeeper into the bottom right corner of the net, giving the Bonnies a 2-1 lead just before halftime with what turned out to be the game-winning tally.
The Bonnies gained an early lead just 19 seconds into the contest when Davidson's defense misplayed a pass and scored an own goal.
The Wildcats (2-4-4, 1-2-0 A-10), however, quickly answered with the tying goal in the sixth minute when Denis Krioutchenkov netted the visitor's lone goal of the night on a free kick.
The visitors tested St. Bonaventure goalkeeper Nicolas Pucci in the 25th minute, forcing the junior to make a full extension save diving to his left. Pucci made another leaping save in the 82nd minute to keep the Bonnies ahead by two scores.
The Bonnies put the game out of reach in the 78th minute when Kenzo Brito swung a corner kick into the box where Mattia Ferretti punched home his first goal of the season through traffic in front of the net.
Mercer tallied three shots to lead the Bonnies while Ferretti, Brito and Bo Drath each registered two. Pucci finished with five saves for the Brown and White.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH KWAME ODURO
"We told our boys that we can score goals and it's how you defend on the other side of the ball. It was a tough second half and I liked the way we held on and pushed through. An A-10 game isn't always going to pretty, but you have to get the results. I am proud of the boys today."
"You have to do your job on both sides of the ball. That was one of our keys for the game. It's just how do we defend with the obsession to want to win and that's what it looks like out there. If you defend well and you don't concede, you can win most of your games at this level."
UP NEXT
The Bonnies are back in action Wednesday, Oct. 9 when they travel to take on George Washington. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m.
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