Courtesy of Emmanuel Athletics Communications:
NORTHFIELD, Vt. – After 110 minutes of soccer, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Quarterfinal between No. 6 Emmanuel and No. 3 Norwich came down to penalty kicks, and with first-year goalie Maddox Pierce (Meriden, Conn.) coming off the bench to guard the net, the substitution paid off, as Pierce stopped 3-of-4 Norwich PKs while the Saints went 3-for-3 from the spot, as the Saints upset the Cadets to move forward to the GNAC Semifinals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Norwich elected to shoot first in PKs, sending sophomore Mamadi Jiana (Chicopee, Mass.) to the spot. Jiana shot to his left, but Pierce read the shot, making a diving stop to his right. First-year Saint Renato Martinez (Sao Paulo, Brazil) calmly fired his PK into the right-side netting, as EC led 1-0 after round one.
- In round two, Norwich junior Jami Lashua (Williston, Vt.) shot his attempt in a similar location to Jiana, with a similar result, a diving save to his right by Pierce. Saints sophomore Pedro-Andres Vasquez (Frisco, Texas) spotted his PK into the left-side netting, giving EC a 2-0 lead.
- Both sides scored in round three, giving EC a 3-1 edge and putting them on the brink of advancing in the GNAC Postseason. The Cadets all-time leading goal scorer, senior Joseph Thongsythavong (Salem, Mass.), stepped up for his PK, only to be denied by Pierce, this time on a dive to his left, clinching the PK shootout victory, 3-1.
- The Cadets had the only two shots on goal in the overtime with their best chance to end the match in the 98th minute with Lashua cutting into the box and firing a left-footed shot from close range. The attempt was denied by Saints graduate student goalie Vincent Conelli (West Hartford, Mass.) with the rebound cleared away safely, keeping the match tied 1-1.
- The Saints jumped out to a lead just 70 seconds into the match with senior Alec Erskine (Coventry, R.I.) scoring his 10th of the season. Sophomore Joey Soucy (Attleboro, Mass.) forced a turnover in the midfield and drove toward net, drawing the Norwich goalie out of the net to cut down the angle. Soucy waited on Erskine to complete a 50-yard sprint from midfield and slid a perfect pass into his stride, as Erskine finished into an empty net for the 1-0 edge.
- Norwich tied the match prior to half on a header that just broke the goal line. A cross near the left corner found Thongsythavong at the top of the six-yard box as he flicked a header toward the far-right post. Conelli nearly beat the header to the goal line, but his diving left-hand perry was too late, as the ball was deemed to cross the line, tying the match 1-1.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Erskine's second-minute tally was his first of the 2022 postseason and his 10th overall goal of the campaign. Soucy's assist gives him a team-high six helpers on the year.
- Thongsythavong's goal was his first of the playoffs and his team-best 21st goal of the year.
- Conelli made eight saves for the Saints during the course of regulation and overtime.
- Cadets senior Robert Wagenseller (Poway, Calif.) made three stops for Norwich.
- The Saints victory sends them to the semifinals for only the second time in program history. The 2011 Saints advanced to the semis after a quarterfinal win over Emerson.
UP NEXT
- The Saints advance to the GNAC Semifinal for the first time in more than a decade and head down to Providence on Wednesday, Nov. 2 for a 7:00 p.m. match with No. 2 Johnson & Wales University.
- The Cadets season comes to a conclusion at 11-3-3.
Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications:
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Sophomore Conner Elliott scored on a rebound with eight minutes remaining in regulation to break a one-all tie and propel the Johnson & Wales (RI) University men's soccer team to a 2-1 win over No. 7 Lasell University Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Soccer Quarterfinal action at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletic Complex.
With the game tied at one and time winding down in regulation, sophomore Brian Miller was awarded a penalty kick. His scoring attempt was knocked down by Lasell keeper Gabrielus Bazikas, however Elliott pounced on the rebound and put home his sixth goal of the season.
The win sets up a GNAC Semifinal match with No. 6 Emmanuel (MA) College Wednesday at the SMAC; earlier in the day, the Saints upset No. 3 seed Norwich 2-1 in PK's. The Wildcats outshot the Lasers 21-4 and held a 16-1 edge in corner kicks.
Miller broke a scoreless tie with his seventh goal of the season midway through the second half, heading in a corner kick from senior Alexander Pane. Less than 10 minutes later, Liam Thompson flicked a pass to Michael Guzzone to tie the match at one at 74:16.
JWU senior goalkeeper Jacob Friedman did not record a save to move to 13-1-3 on the season. Bazikas finished with two saves.
Courtesy of SJC Athletics Communications:
STANDISH, Maine – Top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (13-4-1, 11-1-0 GNAC) blanked #8 Anna Maria College (3-11-2, 3-7-2 GNAC), 4-0, in the first round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Soccer Tournament on Saturday evening.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the triumph, Saint Joseph's advances to the GNAC semifinal round for the sixth-consecutive season and will host #4 University of Saint Joseph in the second-round matchup on Wednesday, start time TBD.
For Anna Maria, the loss signals the end of the 2022 season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks had numerous opportunities to take an early lead but did not hit pay dirt until Gus Ford (Falmouth, Maine) and Jackson Fotter (Gorham, Maine) both scored in a matter of 123 seconds to claim a 2-0 advantage with 12:28 left in the first half.
Grad student Austin Ward (Exeter, N.H.) knocked in his team-leading 16th goal of the season off a Jacob Rockwood (Hopkinton, N.H.) feed in the 50th minute and Ford capped the scoring with his seventh tally of the year off an Icaro Vieira (Westborough, Mass.) pass at the 75:13 mark.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (28-7), shots on goal (13-3), and corner kicks (12-1) in the victory.
THE KEEPERS:
SJC senior starter Mike Sheridan (Folsom, Pa.) made one save in 83:41 minutes while sophomore Liam Foley (Middleton, Mass.) posted a pair of stops in 6:19 of relief duty. Anna Maria grad student Valter Santiago (Norwood, Mass.) turned away eight shots in the loss.
Courtesy of USJ Athletics Communications:
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – With a minute and a half left in overtime, senior forward Mergim Kutllovci (Thomaston, Conn.) grabbed a last-second game-winning goal, lifting the fourth-seeded University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's soccer team to a dramatic, 3-2, victory over the visiting fifth-seeded Albertus Magnus College (AMC) Falcons in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) quarterfinals match on Saturday night at the USJ Soccer Field in West Hartford, Conn.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: #4 USJ 3, #5 AMC 2 (2OT)
Records: USJ (11-3-3), AMC (8-6-4)
Location: USJ Soccer Field (West Hartford, Conn.)
Notes: GNAC Quarterfinals
KEY MOMENTS
- USJ wasted little time trying to find the games opening goal as junior forward Dane Stephens (Jamaica) forced a point-blank save out of AMC's goalkeeper David Lucero (East Haven, Conn.)
- Stephens wouldn't miss his next opportunity, giving USJ the lead in the eighth minute. Senior midfielder Elijah Rowland (Hartford, Conn.) worked the ball down the left flank, before cutting a pass into the feet of Stephens. The forward would turn his defender before curling a beautiful strike into the right side of the net, giving the hosts the early edge.
- Stephens nearly added a second in the 11th minute, but Lucero would come up big for the Falcons, preventing USJ from adding onto its lead. The freshman goalkeeper's offense would reward his efforts in the 19th minute with a corner kick opportunity. Senior Kelvin Cortez (Meriden, Conn.) whipped in the corner, finding the head of junior Gabriel Paglia (Amity, Conn.) inside a crowded six-yard box, who's header bounced off the underside of the crossbar and in, tying the match at 1-1.
- The Blue Jays would not be deterred, regaining the lead in the 31st minute. Stephens got on the end of a through ball down the left side before being taken out inside the box, earning a penalty kick for USJ. Graduate student DeAnte Anderson (Bloomfield, Conn.) stepped up to take the spot quick, calmly sending Lucero the wrong way and regaining the lead for USJ, 2-1.
- The Falcons quickly tried to level the match back up in the 35th minute, but junior goalkeeper Jose Miguel Garcia Martin (Madrid, Spain), recorded a beautiful diving save to his right, redirecting an AMC strike off the post and out, maintaining the score line.
- Neither team would muster a goal-scoring opportunity in the remaining portion of the first half, as USJ entered the halftime break up, 2-1.
- The game would instantly see the momentum flip in AMC's direction as sophomore Jin Chen (China) was shown a second yellow card in the 49th minute, resulting in a red card, sending the Blue Jays down to 10 men for the remainder of the match.
- AMC took full advantage of the extra man, finding the equalizer in the 59th minute. Senior Anthony Barreira (Trumbull, Conn.) ran down the left flank before passing the ball into senior Ben Pierce (Meriden, Conn.). Pierce took a quick touch before firing past the outrushing Garcia Martin, leveling the score at 2-2.
- The game would go quiet after the equalizing goal as USJ tried to fend off the Falcon's attack. Anderson would muster a chance late in the 84th minute but would be denied by Lucero as the game headed for overtime tied at 2-2.
- In the opening period of overtime, both the Blue Jays and Falcon's looked to put the game away. Stephens worked a great chance in the 92nd minute, only to be stopped by a great save from Lucero. Cortez tried his luck for AMC in the 95th minute, but Garcia Martin came up equal, denying the Falcons from taking the lead.
- Neither team could find the go-ahead goal in the first 10 minutes of overtime, as the match remained tied at 2-2 heading into the final overtime period.
- The game would be brought down to 10v10 after Lucero was shown a straight red card in the 101st minute for a reckless challenge outside of the box, denying a clear goal scoring opportunity.
- Luke Thomas (Stamford, Conn.) would replace Lucero in goal, but quickly had to be taken out because of an injury, seeing Andres Diosa (Cheshire, Conn.) play in net for the Falcons.
- The Blue Jays quickly took advantage of the new goalkeeper, peppering shots on target. Kutllovci would ultimately find the game-winner in the 109th minute. Stephens would play a free kick into the feet of Kutllovci, who spun around his defender, firing his strike into the bottom left corner, giving the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead.
- The Falcons were reduced to nine men with 30 seconds left after Declan Ryan (Hamden, Conn.) was shown a straight red card, solidifying the Blue Jays victory, 3-2, in overtime.
QUOTABLE
"A colossal performance from our players today. Going down to 10 players with so much time left in the game really challenged our endurance and resilience. The support we had tonight from out student body, faculty, staff, and player's families really helped us achieve a remarkable result. I don't believe we could have accomplished it without them," said head coach Paul Wright.
NOTES
- Stephens scored his seventh goal of the year, while Anderson netted his 10th and Kuttlovci scored his sixth.
- Rowland dished out his third assists of the year.
- Garcia Martin tallied two saves on the night, improving to 8-3-2 on the year.
- The Blue Jays outshot the falcons, 21-13, including an 11-4 edge in shots on goal.
- USJ also had the advantage in corner kicks, 6-3.
- Albertus Magnus committed 27 fouls, compared to the Blue Jays 11.
- USJ increased its lead in the all-time series to 4-2-1 with the victory.
- The Blue Jays have now defeated the Falcons in the last three consecutive GNAC postseason tournaments.
UP NEXT
The Blue Jays will head to top-seeded Saint Joseph's College of Maine for the GNAC Semifinals on Wednesday, November 2. Kickoff against the Monks is still to be determined.