BALTIMORE, Md. – Senior captain Dane Kenny (Williston Park, N.Y.) netted his first career goal and senior Tommy Uttaro (Staten Island, N.Y.) scored the game-winner to break a 1-1 tie with under four minutes left in regulation as the Holy Cross men's soccer team defeated Loyola (Md.), 2-1, in Patriot League men's soccer action on Saturday afternoon. Holy Cross opened Patriot League play with a win, advancing their record to 3-4-1 (1-0-0), while the Greyhounds fell to 5-2-1 (0-1-0). This is the Crusaders' first road Patriot League win since a 2-1 victory at Army on Nov. 7, 2009 as Holy Cross had a 0-9-2 record in its last 11 road conference contests.

"This was very important to start off the Patriot League season with a victory," said Holy Cross head coach Marco Koolman. "What makes this even more important is it was a road win. This game demonstrated our determination and fighting spirit. No one quit even when Loyola tied the game. It was an overall great team performance as we received major contributions from our bench."

With the score still 0-0 entering the second half, the Crusaders were able to keep the Greyhounds off the scoreboard when senior captain Monty Sanders (Temecula, Calif.) kept a shot from Connor Thompson from going over the goal line after a shot by Diego McQuestion had hit the post. The Crusaders were given a corner kick opportunity in the 73rd minute that would put them on the board. Sanders took the corner kick and set Kenny up for the finish that would bring the Crusaders ahead in the game, 1-0 as Kenny sent a one-timer volley to the back of the net. The Greyhounds battled back less than five minutes later, in the 78th minute, when Dominic Marshall netted his first goal of the season to even the score. Following his goal, Marshall proceeded to get a yellow card in both the 80th minute and the 83rd minutes, removing him from the game and giving the Crusaders a man advantage.  In the 87th minute the Crusaders capitalized on this opportunity and took the final lead. Senior Josh Cintas (San Diego, Calif.) sent the ball to Uttaro who scored his second goal of the season and his third career game-winner.

Holy Cross sophomore goalkeeper Kevin Wright (McKinney, Texas) earned his third win of the season (3-3-1), as he made four saves during the match, while Zach Kane posted six saves. The Greyhounds outshot the Crusaders 16-12, however Holy Cross held the advantage in shots on goal, 8-7.

Holy Cross returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 5, when it hosts American for a Patriot League contest at 7:00 p.m. at the Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium.

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