Terriers win second straight at home

SFC holds off Mount St. Mary's at Brooklyn Bridge Park

March 17, 2021 John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Ramchwy Saint Vil's first career goal proved to be the difference as SFC Brooklyn beat Mount St. Mary's at Brooklyn Bridge Park on Monday afternoon. Photo courtesy of SFC Brooklyn Athletics

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St. Francis Brooklyn men’s head soccer coach Tom Giovatto could sense that his team needed to get the first goal against visiting Northeast Conference rival Mount St. Mary’s on a blustery Monday at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Fortunately for the long-time leader of the Brooklyn Heights-based program, the Terriers came up with a pair.

Junior defender Harald Sollund broke a scoreless deadlock just before intermission and freshman midfielder Ramchwy Saint Vil added one for good measure as SFC held on for a 2-1 victory over the Mount along Pier 5.

“It’s a huge lift to get that goal before halftime,” said Giovatto, whose squad won its second straight here since a season-opening double-overtime loss at Merrimack on March 1.

Sollund’s second career goal for the Terriers (2-1) and first since 2018 when he was playing for La Salle University came in the 43rd minute off a cross from senior defender Dominic Pugliese.

“It’s even harder on the other team (when you score right before the half),” Giovatto added. “It was a big goal, we needed that little breather.”

They wound up needing Saint Vil’s first career collegiate goal even more.

The business major, who helped Manhattan’s Martin Luther King High School to a Public School Athletic League championship, struck in the 78th minute to give the Terriers a 2-0 cushion, one they appreciated greatly when Marcos Lucero got the Mountaineers (0-2-1) on the board in the 85th minute.

“After I scored, I felt more energized,” said Saint Vil, who hopes his tally will be the first of many at SFC.

Renowned for their tenacious defense, the Terriers locked down the Mount the rest of the way, despite surrendering eight shots on goal, four of which were saved by sophomore goaltender Callum James.

“Callum has been great the whole season. He’s just a great guy to have in the back,” said Sollund.

The Terriers, who improved to 2-0 at home and 7-2-2 here over the past two seasons dating back to 2019, will travel to Smithfield, Rhode Island on Monday to take on Bryant (1-0-1).

SFC won’t be back at BPP until April 5, when it hosts conference-leading Fairleigh Dickinson.

“We love coming here, this is our home field,” Giovatto said. “We know we need to be ready to go from the first second.”

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Sophomore Maria Orozco and the LIU Sharks will ride a 2-0 record into Brooklyn Heights on March 12, when they visit SFC Brooklyn. Photo courtesy of LIU Athletics

The LIU women walked out of Bryant with their perfect record intact Tuesday afternoon, beating the Bulldogs 1-0 behind sophomore Maria Orozco’s goal and seven combined saves from the netminding tandem of Lydia Fraga Cordoba and Kayla DeTreux.

Orozco snapped the scoreless deadlock in the 84th minute off assists from junior Amanda Hjelle and sophomore Gabbi Leach.

Cordoba finished with five saves and DeTreux made both of hers with the game on the line in the final three minutes for the Sharks (2-0), who will return to the pitch March 23 at neighborhood rival SFC.

The Lady Terriers suffered a 4-2 loss at Fairleigh Dickinson Tuesday evening to fall to 1-2 on the young season.
Sophomores McKayla Palhof and Isabelle Gollette tallied for SFC.

The LIU men, who play their home games in Brookville, N.Y., these days, suffered a 3-2 overtime loss to FDU on Monday despite goals from freshmen Papa Sow and Emil Jaaskelainen.

The Sharks (1-1-1) will travel to Merrimack next Monday.

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Senior Ty Flowers finished his career at LIU with more than 1,200 points in three seasons. Photo courtesy of LIU Athletics

In other local college sports news, LIU’s Ty Flowers and Eral Penn were both named National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I All-District selections Tuesday by the NABC-member head coaches in NCAA Division I.

Flowers was picked for District 15 first-team honors while Penn made the second team.

Flowers, who earned second team All-NEC honors this past season, ranks in the NEC top-10 in six key statistical categories, including scoring (17.3 points per game) and rebounding (8.1). He finished with 1,213 points and 674 rebounds in his three years at LIU.

Penn received first team All-NEC honors after missing the 2019-20 campaign with an injury, He led the NEC with 10.4 rebounds per contest and 12 double-doubles while averaging almost 16 points per game.

The Sharks finished fifth in the NEC standings this season, but were denied a shot at the conference tournament due to COVID-19 restrictions, which forced the league to invite only four teams to the NEC Championships rather than the traditional eight.