New Britain, Connecticut---The St. Francis Brooklyn men’s soccer team put forth a valiant effort but was edged by the Central Connecticut Blue Devils, 1-0, on a cold Friday evening in New Britain, Connecticut. 

The Terriers stand at 8-4-1; 2-2 NEC. Central Connecticut remains unbeaten in conference play, improving to 7-6-1 and 4-0 in conference action. 

The eventual game-winner came in the 67th minute as Freddy Metellus tallied his second goal of the season.  Off the corner kick from teammate Manny Nobre, Metellus was able to locate the loose ball as there was a plethora of players occupying the box.  Metellus was able to place a low-strike on the ball that found the net to give the home eleven a 1-0 lead.

The teams played to a stalemate in the first stanza.  The Terriers best chance came in the 20th minute. Senior midfielder John Johansson was able to locate teammate Harry Odell in the middle third of the field. Odell, instinctively, sent a thru pass back to Johansson who booted a right-footed shot that sailed high over the cross bar.  Junior goalkeeper Jack Binks was able stop one shot on goal in the period, as Central’s Conor Qualter blast in the 25th minute was denied by  the Darlington, England product.

St. Francis Brooklyn had great chance in the 54th minute as senior defenseman Klement Gjushi soared into the air and headed the ball on goal but was denied by Central’s goalkeeper, reigning NEC Co-Player of the Week Josef Abele after Johansson was able to bend the ball on goal after attempting a free-kick from thirty yards out on the left side.

The Terriers were back on the attack and had another scoring chance minutes later. Senior midfielder Akeem Brooks fired a shot that was directed wide left of the goal.  Brooks regained possession for the Terriers after winning the jump ball, and found himself one-on-one with the goalie twenty yards away.   Bagot had the final chance for the Terriers but was stopped by Abele, who made a stand-up save on the senior forward in the 80th minute. 

For the match, both teams attempted 14 shots. Binks was credited with four saves on the evening while Abele stopped five Terriers shots on the night. 

St. Francis Brooklyn will host the Bryant University Bulldogs, on Sunday, October 27th.  Prior to the start of the match, the Terriers will honor their nine seniors in a pre-game ceremony. The action starts at 1:00 pm.
 

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