SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - From the start, Saint Francis pressed early, testing the Lawrence Tech backline. Within the first ten minutes, Cougars forced crucial back-to-back saves from Lawrence Tech's standout goalkeeper,
Daniel Manolache. Manolache stood like a wall, organizing his defense and keeping the match level. The physical nature of the contest quickly boiled over in the 16th minute when Lawrence Tech's
Jorge Torrecillas was shown a yellow card for a hard challenge.
As the first half progressed, Lawrence Tech looked to counter, with
Pedro Roses and
Alexander Prenkocevic orchestrating opportunities, but the Cougars' defense held firm. The breakthrough finally came in the 34th minute. Following a swift piece of play, Saint Francis found a goal giving the Cougars a 1–0 lead going into halftime.
Timotej Murcko caught the Cougars shifting and fired a stinging shot, but Saint Francis goalkeeper came up with a save to preserve the lead. In the 61st minute, the Cougars Rezik intercepted a loose ball and drove forward, firing a shot to double the Cougars' lead to 2–0.
Down but far from out, Lawrence Tech showed the true heart of Blue Devils. They dominated the final twenty minutes, unleashing a barrage of 11 second-half shots.
Finlay MacKintosh nearly brought the stadium to its feet when his brilliant strike beat the keeper but agonizingly rattled off the post.
The relentless pressure finally paid off in the 80th minute.
Pedro Roses delivered a magnificent, pinpoint cross into the box, and
Alexander Prenkocevic timed his run perfectly to smash it into the back of the net. With the score at 2–1, the atmosphere turned electric.
The final ten minutes were pure chaos. Lawrence Tech poured everyone forward in a bid to rescue a draw. In the 88th minute, Murcko rose above the defense to power a header toward the top corner. Moments later, in the dying seconds of the match,
Nick Keuler fired a final rocket, but it was smothered as the final whistle blew.
Their next match will be Sunday, September 6 at Blue Devil Stadium in Southfield, Mich. against Indiana University East.
