SALT LAKE CITY – Freshman Chris Brayton scored a rebound goal in the 49th minute and the Carroll defense allowed just two shots to earn a 1-0 road win over former Frontier Conference foe Westminster Saturday afternoon at Westminster's Dumke Field.
 
The goal came on a perfectly placed corner kick by Alessio Georgiades. The kick found Jose Porras for the header but Westminster goalkeeper Sean Speirs made a fingertip save. Before Speirs could corral the ball Brayton sent the ball square into the center of the net for the 1-0 lead.
 
Although the game was a one-score win, it was a dominant performance for the Saints.
 
Carroll outshot the Griffins 18-2 with an 8-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Griffins didn't muster a shot in the second half.
 
Porras had seven shots with three on goal and Brayton tallied three shots.
 
"This performance speaks volumes about the improvement of our defense," head coach Doug Mello said. "Alessio was a dominant force in the middle. He possessed the ball in the middle and kept us on the attack, James Lamont really limited their forwards with his performance on the back line and Isaac Bostrom played really well at center-mid a position he isn't used to playing."
 
The benefactor of the strong defense was goalkeeper Conor Smith. He was only forced to make two saves on the day but Mello is excited about his performance.
 
"I am excited for Conor to get the shutout especially against this team," Mello said. "They had our number last year and scored eight goals on us in two games. It was really great to see how much we have improved."
 
Mello still sees much for the Saints to improve on at this point in the season, especially in scoring. The Saints just missed on multiple scoring opportunities.
 
"We need to clean some things up and work a bit more finishing," Mello said.  "That being said, I think we're on the right track to be where we want to be at the end of the year."
 
The Saints home opener is slated for next Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Nelson Stadium against the University of Lethbridge.