FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Ethan Vigario finished what Ivan Altimorano started to give the University of Saint Francis a 2-1 win over Marian University in the Crossroads League opening match for both teams at Kevin Donley Field at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium on on weather-perfect evening on Wednesday.
Altimorano got the tripping call in the box and Vigario drilled the penalty kick with 19:54 on the second half clock for the one-goal advantage. USF had taken a 1-nil lead on a Julian Colantonio PK at 44:37 to lead at halftime, but Logan Hatter knotted the conflict at 1 at 70:08. Just 19 seconds later, Vigario restored the Cougars lead at 70:27.
The 5-4 Knights held an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks, but USF did the job with senior keeper Braden Conn adding six saves to his USF record for career saves with 354. Conn’s one save in the first half on Saturday at IU-East pushed his total to 348 to move him past Pat Downs, who finished with 347 in three seasons for USF from 1997-99.