Box Score HELENA, Mont. -- With a dash of drama, the Carroll College men's soccer team claimed a 4-1 win over Northwest University on Friday in Kirkland, Washington. 

"We just played a very good match even though we had a bit of controversy," Saints coach Doug Mello said.  

The Saints (6-5-1, 5-4-1 Cascade Collegiate Conference) were forced to play without starting goalkeeper Kaden Connor after the freshman received a red card in the 27th minute. 

Connor challenged a ball outside the box far on the wing and erred in his judgment. The red card meant the Saints would play with only 10 men for the rest of the game. Mello opted to sub reserve keeper August Baker and play a 4-4-1 formation for the remainder of the game. 

Not even a minute after Connor's ejection, the Saints broke through for a goal. Sam Malouf took a pass from Javi Porras in the 28th minute and gave the Saints a 1-0 lead. 

A man down, the Saints were up 1-0. 

A Northwest player received his second yellow card, which became a red, and was ejected in the 35th minute, making the game a 10-on-10 affair. Mello thought the additional space on the field created by fewer bodies boded well for the Saints. 

"There was a lot of room on the field to play into," Mello said. "We were a bit faster. The extra space played into our hands a bit."

Carroll took a 1-0 lead into halftime. 

The Saints struck first in the second half when Paolo Georgiades rebounded a shot from Terry Cox in the 55th minute. 

In the 69th minute, defender Camron Martin took a pass from Porras and fired a long-range shot to give the Saints a 3-0 lead. 

Northwest got one back in the 71st minute when Trent Siedenburg finished a header from Kyler McIntosh, the lone goal Baker would give up on the day. 

"August Baker, first time he's seen action all year," Mello said. "He responded quite well. They did get a goal, but that wasn't by any means his fault. It was a good shot."

Porras rounded out his big day with a goal on a penalty kick in the 86th minute. The senior forward finished with two assists and a goal on the day. 

"Javi had a great game," Mello said.

Mello voiced his approval of his entire team's play, from the front line, to the midfield and the backline. 

"Kyle Thomsen and Jon Taylor defensively did a bang up job as defenders," Mello said. "They broke down a lot of attempts at goal. The midfield this game, again Santi Morazzani really dominated the area. He took a lot of balls. He had another break out game. 

"Nick Lowrimore broke them down on the outside quite a bit, went strong to the goal. Had a good overall game."   

Mello also noted Malouf and Cox's strong play up front to pressure Northwest.

The Saints play Evergreen State College on Saturday at 1 p.m.