The D'Youville men's soccer team made its long-awaited return to play on Sunday afternoon, falling to future East Coast Conference foe, Roberts Wesleyan, 9-1, in Rochester, N.Y.

The non-conference road defeat put the Saints at 0-1 overall while the Redhawks improved to 3-1 on the season.

Roberts Wesleyan wasted no time building their advantage with an unassisted goal in the fourth minute from Justin Robertson. Nearly five-and-a-half minutes later, Robertson beat senior goalkeeper Kyle Dick once more. The Saints went on to hold a high-flying Redhawk attack at bay for the remainder of the first half. 

In the 59th minute, sophomore midfielder Chris Irakoze drew one goal back for the Saints as the Frenchman netted his fifth career goal in a D'Youville uniform. Less than two minutes later, Robertson grabbed his hat-trick in the 61st minute to re-establish a two-goal advantage. The Redhawks wouldn't look back as they cashed in six more times, including four goals from Dylan Ruiz and a brace from Ryan Curtis, over the final 25 minutes. 

Dick (0-1) started in goal for D'Youville and made eight saves in over 68 minutes between the pipes. Junior goalkeeper William Anderson replaced Dick in goal in the 69th minute, totaling six saves during his 21 minutes in net.

Notables - Roberts Wesleyan controlled the game with 35 shots while the Saints managed six attempts. The Redhawks posted 10 corner kicks while D'Youville was awarded one ... Yellow cards were isssued to D'Youville sophoore midfielder Noah Steele in the 44th minute and Irakoze in the 50th minute, while Robert Hinds was shown a yellow card for Roberts Wesleyan in the 78th minute. 

Up Next - The Saints are scheduled to wrap up their shortened spring season on Thursday, April 22, at Dobson Field against Hilbert. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m.