Freshman keeper Ali Chokr (Bint Jbail, Lebanon/Fontainebleau (La.)) set a new school-record with 12 saves in the goal as the Lourdes men's soccer team suffered 3-2 loss at Saint Francis (Ill.) to open its three-game road trip.
 
"The pieces are there for us," said head coach Barry Spitzer. "We still have a lot of work to do to get things cleaned up. We fought hard today and didn't get the result we wanted but we need to move forward and keep working hard."
 
The Gray Wolves would tally the contests first goal as senior Nitram Senderos (Cartersville, Ga./Cartersville) capitalized on a free-kick following a USF foul in the goalies box to give Lourdes a 1-0 lead in the 16^th minute.
 
It took 1:03 for the Saints (2-3) to even the score at 1-1 after Edgar Oropeza took a pass from teammate Kelvin Ndlovu and beat the keeper in the 18^th minute.
 
Chokr was able to keep the Saints offense at bay the rest of the first half with three crucial saves down the stretch.
 
From there, freshman Jared Poslaiko (Woodhaven, Mich./Carlson) broke the 1-1 tie in the 39^th minute of play, heading a cross from junior Tyler Rogers (Vero Beach, Fla./Vero Beach) into the net to give Lourdes a 2-1 lead at the break.
 
In the second half, Saint Francis knotted the game at 2-2 with a PK in the 56^th minute before taking the lead for good in the 65^th minute to claim a 3-2 victory.
 
Chokr went the distance in the goal for Lourdes, posting a career-high 12 saves. He also moves into third place all-time at Lourdes with 21 saves.
 
USF won the shot battle by a 27-17 margin, and edged Lourdes in corner kicks by a 4-3 margin.
 
The Gray Wolves (1-3) will return to action and play the second of three consecutive games on the road on Tuesday, Sept. 18 as it travels to Mount Vernon Nazarene for a 4 p.m. kickoff.