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PHILADELPHIA – The La Salle men's soccer team defeated St. Bonaventure, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon at McCarthy Stadium behind a three-point effort from Jason Plumhoff. With the win, the Explorers improved to 5-5-2 on the year and 2-0-0 in the Atlantic 10.

"The games in the A-10 are so critical and competitive," head coach Pat Farrell said post-game. "Sometimes the games are turned on just one or two plays and we were fortunate enough this weekend to make those plays."

The first half was relatively quiet, with each team recording three shots but no scores. The Explorers nearly got on the board in the 17^th minute when Andrew Connors flicked a ball just wide of the net off a throw-in.

The second half began with more tempo and the Blue and Gold drew first blood in the 55^th minute off the head of Pat Sullivan. Plumhoff played a cross in the box to Sullivan, who popped a header over the Bonnies goalkeeper, Jeremy Figler. The goal was the first of Sullivan's career, who took three shots on the day.

St. Bonaventure (7-5-1, 1-1-0 A-10) countered eight minutes later, as Emmett O'Connor netted the equalizer in the 63^rd minute off a free position strike from Brad Vanino.

The match became more physical as it progressed, capped by a St. Bonaventure red card by Eric Smolarek in the 75^th minute. With a yellow card already to his name, Smolarek was sent to the sideline after an overzealous slide tackle took down Plumhoff.

With a one-man advantage, the Explorers began mounting more pressure and broke through in the 79^th minute. Nick Becker played a low cross in front of the net to Plumhoff, who buried it far post to put the Blue and Gold up for good.

St. Bonaventure outshot the home team 9-7 for the match but the Explorers held a 4-1 edge in corners. Two of La Salle's four shots in the second frame tickled the twine.

Goalkeeper John McCarthy made three saves in the effort, as did Figler on the other side.  

La Salle returns to the turf on Friday at 7:30 PM when it hosts A-10 and Philadelphia Soccer 6 rival Saint Joseph's.

Scoring Summary

TEAM	GOAL	ASSIST	TIME
LAS	Pat Sullivan	Jason Plumhoff	55:46
SBU	Emmett O'Connor	Brad Vanino	63:43
LAS	Jason Plumhoff	Nick Becker	79:05

NOTES: Plumhoff recorded three points on Sunday and four on Friday, good for a seven point weekend output. He now has 67 career points, seventh-most in program history. He is two away from tying Ryan Richter (2007-10) for sixth. His 23 career assists are tied for second-most in program history…John McCarthy has 410 career saves, third in La Salle history…Nick Becker's assist in the 79^th minute was the first of his career…The Explorers are 5-1-1 this year when scoring at least two goals...La Salle improved to 4-2-0 on the year at McCarthy Stadium…Of La Salle's 20 goals this season, 16 have come in the second half