DULUTH, Minn. – Playing with 10 men for more than 71 minutes, the St. Scholastica men's soccer team held UW-River Falls scoreless until the closing minutes before falling 1-0 Tuesday at Kenny Harkins Field.
Dylan Gies (Stavanger, Norway/) made 11 saves to anchor the Saints' defensive effort, but Sam Everakes scored with 4:49 remaining to give the Falcons the nonconference victory. St. Scholastica dropped to 2-5 overall, while UW-River Falls improved to 4-4-1.
The Saints generated an early shot from Michael Nuqui (Wellingborough, England/) and a pair of corner kicks in the opening 10 minutes. The match shifted at 18:58, however, when a red card left St. Scholastica down a player for the remainder of the contest.
Despite the disadvantage, CSS kept the Falcons off the scoreboard through halftime. Gies stopped all four shots on goal he faced in the opening half, including a save in the 43rd minute to preserve the scoreless tie.
UW-River Falls increased its pressure after the break, recording 15 shots and nine corner kicks. Gies added seven second-half saves as the Saints continued to frustrate the visitors.
Kiki Schmitz (Meerbusch, Germany/) registered both of St. Scholastica's second-half shots, with attempts in the 74th and 83rd minutes. The Saints also earned a corner kick following his second attempt but were unable to break through.
Everakes finally put the Falcons ahead at 85:11 off an assist from Ilya Lalich, providing the match's lone goal. UW-River Falls finished with a 22-3 advantage in shots and a 9-4 edge in corner kicks.
St. Scholastica returns to MIAC play Saturday, Sept. 26, traveling to Winona to face Saint Mary's University. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
