The Benedictine Mesa men's soccer team remained unbeaten in GSAC play with a 2-0 road victory over Hope International on Saturday afternoon at Al Barbour Field. The Redhawks scored once in each half and backed the effort with a strong defensive performance to earn their third conference win of the season.
Benedictine generated several early scoring opportunities, forcing Tyler Beehler into four first-half saves before breaking through in the33rd minute. After entering as a substitute just over a minute earlier, Franco Marambio found the back of the net for his first goal of the season to give the Redhawks a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
The Redhawks carried the advantage into the second half, where they continued to withstand pressure from the Royals. Charlie Shepherdwas instrumental in preserving the lead, making four of his six saves after halftime as Hope International searched for an equalizer.
Benedictine put the match away in the closing minutes when Marambio struck again in the 89th minute. Pol Bistue provided the assist on the insurance goal, helping the Redhawks secure the 2-0 victory. Marambio accounted for both Benedictine goals on his only two shots of the match.
The Redhawks finished with nine shots, including seven on goal. Lampros Zervas led the team with three shots, while Bryan Ncube, PolBistue, Kobe Bewicke, and Shay Carey each recorded a shot on target.
Defensively, Benedictine limited Hope International to six shots on goal despite the Royals holding a 12-9 edge in total shots. Shepherd stopped all six attempts he faced to record the shutout as the Redhawks improved to 4-1-1 overall and 3-0 in GSAC play. Hope International fell to 4-2-2 overall and 1-1-2 in conference action
