ERIE, Pa. – Gannon men's soccer erupted for four first-half goals and received scoring from five different players on Sunday afternoon as the Golden Knights picked up their first win of the season with a 5-2 victory over East Stroudsburg at McConnell Family Stadium.
Gannon jumped out to a 4-0 lead before halftime behind goals from Rafa Hyde (São José dos Campos, Brazil/Objetivo Aquarius), Mario Lindo (Madrid, Spain/IES Juan Gris), Manuel Pereyra (Puebla, Mexico/Maria Luisa Pacheco) and Ryko Bodurov (Columbus, Ohio/Olentangy Berlin). East Stroudsburg cut the deficit with a pair of second-half goals before David Ivascu (Vaughan, Ontario/St. Elizabeth Catholic) answered in the 79th minute to put the match away.
THE GAME FACTS
Score: Gannon 5, East Stroudsburg 2
Records: Gannon 1-1-0 | East Stroudsburg 1-1-0
Location: McConnell Family Stadium | Erie, Pa.
Date: August 30, 2026
THE KNIGHT CAP
- Fast Start: Rafa Hyde (São José dos Campos, Brazil/Objetivo Aquarius) opened the scoring just 7:28 into the match, finishing off an assist from Mario Lindo (Madrid, Spain/IES Juan Gris) to give Gannon an early 1-0 advantage.
- Lindo Doubles The Lead: Lindo went from facilitator to scorer in the 26th minute, finding the back of the net unassisted for his first goal of the season and a 2-0 Golden Knights lead.
- Three In The Opening 34 Minutes: Manuel Pereyra (Puebla, Mexico/Maria Luisa Pacheco) pushed Gannon's advantage to 3-0 at the 33:38 mark. Hyde and Jensen Peake (Staffordshire, England/Friary) combined for the assists on Pereyra's first goal of the season.
- Four Before The Break: Ryko Bodurov (Columbus, Ohio/Olentangy Berlin) capped Gannon's dominant opening half with an unassisted goal at 38:17, sending the Golden Knights into halftime with a 4-0 advantage.
- Five Different Goal Scorers: David Ivascu (Vaughan, Ontario/St. Elizabeth Catholic) added Gannon's fifth and final goal at 78:22. Hyde, Lindo, Pereyra, Bodurov and Ivascu each scored once in the victory.
- Hyde Leads The Attack: Hyde finished with a goal and an assist while putting two of his three shots on goal. Lindo also recorded a goal and an assist.
- Bodurov Applies Pressure: Bodurov led the Golden Knights with four shots and put three attempts on goal while scoring once. Kasper Alfei Saebo (Hamar, Norway/) also finished with four shots, all four of which were on target.
- Golden Knights Fill The Stat Sheet: Gannon finished with a 21-14 advantage in total shots and placed 15 attempts on goal compared to six for East Stroudsburg.
- Di Gioia Goes The Distance: Anthony Di Gioia (Welland, Ont.) played all 90 minutes in goal for the Golden Knights, finishing with four saves while allowing two goals.
- Answering The Rally: East Stroudsburg scored twice in a span of just over two minutes, with Owen Rennie finding the net at 72:31 and Bat-Od Buman-Uchral scoring at 74:48. Ivascu responded less than four minutes later to restore Gannon's three-goal advantage.
THE NEXT GAME
Gannon will be on the road, Friday, September 4th, at 6:30 PM against Ashland University.
This story was written using the support of AI.
