Brown 1, St. Francis 0

St. Francis must have been one inspiring dude. The 13th century friar, canonized for choosing a life of poverty and humble service, has had more schools named after him than Maria Montessori. And that’s saying something. There’s St. Francis College in Loretto, Pennsylvania, St. Francis College in Fort Wayne, Indiana, St. Francis University in Joliet, Illinois, and St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, New York. Throw in overseas colleges and universities in Brisbane, Sao Paolo, and Lucknow, India, tack on high schools in the U.S. and abroad, and you've got a list of schools called “St. Francis” that’s longer than, well, a Roman Catholic family tree.

The Brown Men’s Soccer team defeated St. Francis College of Brooklyln Heights, New York (we think) by a score of 1-0 this past Tuesday. Dylan Sheehan ’09 scored on a header in the first half, Paul Grandstrand earned the shutout in goal, and the Brown defense of Matt Britner ’07.5, Rhett Bernstein ’09 and Steve Sawyer ’09 kept things tidy in back. But the real story of the game was Brown’s inability to get that crucial second goal, owing in part to bad finishing, a bit of misfortune, and perhaps some intervention by St. Francis himself.

Here is your post-game report:

Kickoff – Roughly two hundred fans show up for the Tuesday night, 7 pm kickoff. While not a record-setting number, it certainly is an impressive showing. Goes to show what a winning streak can do.

1st minute – Brown gets into the flow immediately, deftly moving he ball between backs and midfielders. Nick Elenz-Martin ’10, finding his form, gets on the ball with great regularity and begins to set the rhythm of the game.

22nd minute – During a corner kick, Brown packs the six-yard box to make things difficult on the diminuitive Terrier goalkeeper. Darren Howerton ’09 swings in a beautiful corner kick, and several players gravitate towards the ball. Five players jump simultaneously and the ball hovers above them, weighing its options like a hungry farmer choosing the right bird for dinner. Ultimately, it chooses Dylan Sheehan ’09, who redirects the ball into the goal from six yards out. Just another day at the farm for Sheehan, who notches his fifth goal in five games. 1-0 Brown.

30th minute – Sheehan gets by his man and winds up to shoot. As he swings his right leg back, a St. Francis player clips him, sending Sheehan tumbling to the ground. While not intentional, it is clearly a foul and Brown is awarded a free kick. Matt Britner ’07.5 walks forward and places the ball on the penalty spot. After backing up a few steps, he approaches the ball with his usual relaxed confidence. But on this occasion, his best quality—calmness bordering on insouciance—becomes his worst enemy as the keeper dives right and easily saves the softly hit shot. Britner shrugs it off. Still 1-0 Brown.

Halftime – Seeing no need for tactical adjustments, Coach Noonan tells the boys to keep it up. Get back out there and get the second goal!

63rd minute – Kevin Davies ’09 and Elenz-Martin find themselves on a 2-on-1 break. Davies draws the defender and slips the ball to a wide open Elenz-Martin. The latter sets up for a left-footed shot and, as the keeper slides across to close down the angle, blasts the ball just wide of goal. It glances off the supporting pole and into the fence, which reminds me—Stevenson field now has “World Cup style” nets, the kind with poles that pull the net back. And they’re really sweet.

70th minute – Sheehan plays a well-timed ball laterally to Davies, who waterbugs past the Terrier defense and moves toward goal. On a clear breakaway, and with the entire net to shoot at, he somehow blasts the ball directly into the St. Francis goalie, the way a vice president might blast a quail hunting friend in the face. The startled St. Francis goalkeeper collects the ball. Still 1-0 Brown.

85th minute – St. Francis gets the chance that everyone knew it would. Their talented Swedish forward makes a well timed run, receives a diagonal ball, and slides to hit a first time left footed shot. With Grandstrand looking beaten, Rhett Bernstein materializes from and, at the last possible instant, blocks the shot. Still 1-0 Brown.

90th minute – The final whistle blows and Brown players, coaches and fans emit a collective sigh of relief. It probably never should have been this close, but it’s a result nonetheless. St. Francis, “The Small College of Big Dreams,” leaves Stevenson Field still dreaming of victory. We just hope they returned to the right campus.

Brown 1, St. Francis 0