MOON TOWNSHIP– RMU men’s soccer recorded their third win in a row this afternoon at the North Athletic Complex by defeating Saint Francis by a final score of 1-0.

The Colonials entered today’s game with a 2-3-0 record, with their last game being a 5-0 shutout victory at Milwaukee. Saint Francis came into town sporting a 3-2-1 record after a 2-1 win versus Longwood.

RMU brought the offensive pressure right out of the gate, getting a corner kick opportunity within the first minute. They were rewarded shortly thereafter, with Chase Gilley scoring in the third minute off of a nice back-and-forth passing play with his twin brother, Logan, giving him his fourth goal in two games.

Head coach Jason O’Keefe spoke on Chase’s recent hot streak.

“Chase is a goal scorer. I think his teammates are doing a really good job at finding him the ball. He’s always going to be making that run and he’s always going to be getting in those areas, so it’s just a matter of finding that delivery. They’ve been doing a great job and he tucks it home.”

There were almost a pair of Gilley goals, but Logan’s chance in the fifth minute was stopped by the Red Flash defense and goalie Jordaine Jaeger.

After a hectic start, the flow of play began to slow down, with neither team getting many chances for the remainder of the first half. SFU recorded their first shot on goal in the 18th minute, but it was easily denied by Colonials goalie Freidrich Petrelli. The momentum began to shift in Saint Francis’ favor, but some good defense from RMU in the 22nd minute stopped the Red Flash from getting a shot off in close.

Not long after, the first yellow card of the day was issued to the Colonials’ Charlie Lawrence in the 23rd minute, much to the displeasure of the home crowd. However, SFU was unable to capitalize on the ensuing kick, giving the fans something to cheer about. A second yellow card was issued to the Red Flash’s Alexios Rodriguez in the 28th minute, but it didn’t detract from their momentum, as a shot in the 31st minute sailed just over the crossbar.

The flow of play began to shift back in RMU’s favor in the 34th minute when a ball sent through the goal box just missed finding the foot of a Colonials player. The two teams entered halftime with the score at 1-0 and each team having a shot on goal.

Coming out of the break, RMU began the second half bringing plenty of offensive pressure. A corner kick chance in the 50th minute was close but ultimately went wide. Another good chance in the 51st minute along with another corner kick opportunity in the 54th minute left no doubt over who had the momentum.

After those chances, the injury bug began to spread. In the 57th minute, a Red Flash player was injured but was able to walk it off and stay in the game. Logan Gilley was injured in the 58th minute and had to leave the game, but he returned in the 66th minute, albeit with a different jersey and number. There was a bit of a scare in the 64th minute when RMU’s Hugo Kadima collided with Jaeger, with Jaeger getting the worst of it. Thankfully both players were able to stay in the game after a stoppage in play.

The Colonials continued their strong play, but a corner kick opportunity in the 77th minute sailed too high and SFU was able to quickly break it up. A chance for the Red Flash in the 81st minute went wide, one of the many impressive defensive plays RMU made in the second half. The Colonials almost got an insurance goal in the 85th minute, but a diving stop kept the score at 1-0, where it would stay. The final count for shots was 8-6 in RMU’s favor, and the shots on goal were 1-1.

It was a low-scoring affair compared to RMU’s previous game against Milwaukee, but the game plan “didn’t really change much” according to Coach O’Keefe. “We’re really focused on what we’re doing and just trying to get better at it every day. It’d be nice to think we’re going to score five goals every game, but the reality of it is that it’s the hardest thing to do in a game. In Milwaukee, we got a couple early and goals change games. I thought we got a little bit away from what we wanted to do after we scored really early today, but credit to the guys.”

The Colonials will look to continue their winning streak when they host Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday at the North Athletic Complex at 2 p.m.