Neal and the Red Flash defense bottled up Bryant in their season opener, a 39-28 win at home. The sophomore linebacker recorded an interception, a pass break-up, and a team-high 13 tackles, including a tackle for a loss that gave Saint Francis its first lead of the contest. Neal made his most-impactful play of the game in the second quarter with Bryant backed up in its own end. On a 3rd-and-22 screen pass play, Neal dropped All-American running back Jordan Brown in the end zone for a safety that gave Saint Francis a 15-14 advantage. Helping limit the Bulldogs to 272 yards of total offense, the Pennsylvania product also limited Brown to no more than a one-yard gain on two other occasions.