MANCHESTER, N.H. – Junior Josue Assantha (Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo) tallied the game-winning goal in the 88th minute to send the Saint Anselm College men's soccer team past Roberts Wesleyan, 1-0, in non-conference action on Wednesday afternoon.

The Hawks improve to 2-0 and have their final non-conference tune-up on Saturday, Sept. 11 against Saint Michael's at 1 p.m. Roberts Wesleyan falls to 1-2 on the season.

Saint Anselm used the momentum from a penalty kick save and turned it into a goal in the 88th minute. The Hawks earned a throw-in, taken by  Zach Elliot (Manchester, N.H.). He found Thomas Prentice (Merrimack, N.H.) in the box who headed the ball toward a cutting Assantha who fired a shot with his right foot into the back of the goal to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.

Earlier in the contest, the Redhawks applied the pressure early as Justin Robertson fired a shot on junior goalkeeper Brian Underhill (Westford, Mass.). Underhill made the save on the shot headed toward the bottom middle of the goal. The Hawks registered their first shot on goal in the 31st minute as junior Kevin Jordan (Danvers, Mass.) fired a shot to the top of the goal. Jared Gibbons made the save, keeping the scoreless tie.

Both teams struggled to gain an advantage throughout the rest of the first half. The Redhawks put another shot on goal, but Underhill was up for the task and kept the game scoreless.
Jordan and Elliot responded with shots but they could not put them on goal.

Roberts Wesleyan opened the second half on the attack as Ollie Ardle tested Underhill twice and a pair of Alex Vega shots went wide. The turning point in the contest came when Dylan Ruiz took a penalty kick in the 83rd minute. Ruiz attempted to beat Underhill on his low right but the junior goalkeeper predicted the shot and made the diving save.

Roberts Wesleyan attempted to push the pace in the remainder of regulation but the Hawks defense did not allow the hosts to gain a strong opportunity to tie the contest.

The Redhawks fired 14 shots to eight for the Hawks. Roberts Wesleyan held a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Underhill improves to 2-0 after posting a five-save shutout. Gibbons falls to 1-2 on the season, making one save on one shot on goal.