Shorthanded Elks Dominate Flames

Irvine, Calif. — The Stanton Elks left no doubt on Thursday night at Great Park. After two consecutive ties to open the season, Stanton finally broke through in commanding fashion, defeating the Flames 5–0 — all while playing down a man for most of the match.

The adversity came early when newcomer Luca Marfisi was shown a red card, forcing Stanton to fight with 10 men. Instead of folding, the Elks rose to the occasion and delivered their most complete performance yet.

Freshman Kael Kortz opened the scoring in the 8th minute off a feed from Francesco De Marco, setting the tone. Just minutes later, Maximiliam Hartbaum doubled the lead thanks to an assist from Lorenzo Jacon. Stanton's relentless pressure carried into the closing moments of the first half, when Joaquin Seguic fired home an unassisted strike to make it 3–0.

The Elks didn't slow down after the break. In the 72nd minute, De Marco turned scorer, slotting in his first goal of the season off a setup from Ornolfur Sveinsson. Three minutes later, Jacon capped the night with an unassisted finish, sealing the 5–0 statement victory.

"This was about resilience," said head coach Gameiro. "To go down a man so early and still dominate shows the character of this group. They weren't going to let another game slip away."

With five different players contributing to the score sheet and a shutout performance defensively, the Elks not only claimed their first win of the season but also proved they can overcome adversity in style.

Stanton now turns its attention to building momentum from this breakthrough result as they continue their campaign in Irvine.