Griffins win first home game of 2015

St. Louis, Mo. - Fontbonne men's soccer secured their first victory at home this afternoon, defeating Hendrix College 5-1. Sophomore Tony Pitaro earned his first victory of the season while Corey Schmidt netted his second and third goals of the season. Fontbonne is currently 2-5 on the year.

Fontbonne pressured Hendrix all game, outshooting the Warriors 28-8. Freshman defender Brendan Kopff recorded his first collegiate goal in the second minute of the game, thanks to a nice cross from Alex Platipodis. Two minutes later and fellow freshman Matt Rapisardo hit the back of the net to give Fontbonne an early 2-0 lead. The St. Louis native lifted his goal over the goalkeeper's head from near the 20-yard line. The Griffins scored again in the 31st minute. Nathan Spiess sent a long pass up the left sideline to Kopff who chased the ball to the endline. Kopff managed to send a cross to the middle of the box where Schmidt connected on the goal.

After achieving the 3-1 halftime lead, after Hendrix scored in the 37th minute, Schmidt scored his second goal of the game on a pass-through in the box from Rapisardo in the 67th minute. Not long after, Ryan Curran rounded out the goal-scoring when he chased down a ball and scored his second golden egg of the year. Fontbonne had several great chances to create a larger margin of victory within the final five minutes of the game, but the shots were just wide.

Pitaro saved four in the victory. Both teams accumulated 13 fouls and each had five corner kick opportunities.

Fontbonne begins SLIAC action this week when they travel to Westminster College Saturday, September 26th. The game is slated for 1pm.