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Saint Joseph’s Claims 2011 GNAC Men’s Soccer Championship
Corey McCarthy
St. Joseph's College Athletic Communications
STANDISH, ME – Second-seeded Saint Joseph’s (14-5, 7-3 GNAC) defeated #4 Norwich University (11-9, 6-4 GNAC), 4-1, in the 2011 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men’s Soccer Championship at Westerlea Way Field on Saturday.
The Monks netted a pair of goals in a span of five minutes midway
through the opening stanza and countered the Cadets’ late
first-half marker with two tallies just three minutes apart in the
latter period to roll to side’s second conference crown in
the last three seasons.
With the victory, Saint Joseph’s collects an automatic
qualifier – awarded annually to the GNAC soccer champion
– into the NCAA DIII Men’s Soccer Tournament, which
begins late last week. For Norwich, the 2011 campaign comes to a
close with the loss.
Sophomore forward Zach Johnson (Westbrook, Maine) put the Monks on
the board with a terrific goal off a Ross Suleski ’14
(Amesbury, Mass./St. Thomas Aquinas) pass at the 24:12 mark.
Johnson, needing one marker to break the SJC single-season goals
record, accomplished the feat in style with a bicycle kick, taken
from the left side of the 18, which soared into the top right
corner to make it a 1-0 match.
Momentum quickly turned in the Monks’ favor after the score
as the hosts mounted steady pressure in the offensive zone for
following five-minute stretch. Teddy Palmer ’13 (Scarborough,
Maine) belted a shot wide at the 26:16 mark and freshman midfielder
Ali Hersi (Lewiston, Maine) was denied with a diving stop by Cadets
keeper Christian Hallstrom ’15 (Las Vegas, Nev.) in the 29th
minute, but St. Joe’s would extend the cushion to two goals
just one minute later.
After a Norwich foul, Saint Joseph’s was awarded a corner
kick and senior Mike Sanfilippo (Walpole, Mass.) booted the sphere
into the box, but the play was whistled dead as a Cadets player was
called for a handball foul and Sanfilippo was awarded a penalty
kick attempt. The senior proceeded to convert the first PK shot of
his collegiate career with a blast to the bottom left corner after
Hallstrom bought on a fake to the right.
The Cadets would go on to record a penalty kick of their own
exactly nine minutes later when a trip was called on the Monks at
the 38:46 mark. Anthony Amell ’14 (Northfield, Vt.), who
notched the game-winning goal in a 1-0 upset victory over
top-seeded Albertus Magnus College in the semifinals on Thursday,
took the PK sailed wide right.
Norwich would get on the board shortly thereafter when Garrett
Shufelt ’13 (Clifton Park, N.Y.) netted an unassisted marker
off a corner kick in the 40th minute. The Cadets’ points
leader steered a shot taken from the middle of the box into the
bottom left corner to cut the visitors’ deficit to one goal
heading into the break.
The Cadets held advantages in both shots (10-8) and corner kicks
(2-1) in the first half. SJC keeper Kenny Grade ’14 (Hampton,
N.H./St. Thomas Aquinas) posted a pair of saves in the opening 45
while Hallstrom recorded one stop before intermission.
The halftime adjustments put forth by the SJC coaching staff seemed
to click immediately as the Royal Blue raced out of the gate in the
second stanza with a flurry of scoring chances. Palmer registered
the first chance at the 48:24 mark when he sent a shot from inside
the box that sailed over the crossbar. Sanfilippo took a corner
kick less than two minutes later which resulted in several chances
in rapid succession as a Johnson bid was denied by Hallstrom and a
Jack LaFreniere ’13 (Alton, N.H.) attempt went wide.
Johnson was awarded a free kick from the top of the box on the
right side, but his shot was blocked. He managed to gather the
rebound, but Hallstrom was in position to make the save on the
sophomore’s second attempt.
Play opened up a bit as both teams posted scoring chances over the
following 20 minutes, but neither team budged until the 75:09 mark
when sophomore back Dan McIntyre (Sparta, N.J.) sent a free kick
from about 30 yards out into the bottom right corner of the net.
For McIntyre, the goal was the first of his two-year NCAA
career.
The Monks managed to gain even more breathing room just three minutes later when Hersi buried a loose rebound into the bottom right corner to make it a 4-1 contest.
Grade made five saves for Saint Joseph’s while Hallstrom
tallied a pair of stops in goal for the Cadets.
St. Joe’s held a 14-5 advantage in shots in the second half
and a 22-15 edge overall in the title triumph. The Monks also
produced a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks on the afternoon.
With the win Saint Joseph’s avenges a 2-1 loss at the hands
of Norwich in the 2008 GNAC Championship game. The conference crown
is the third in the 22-year history of the SJC men’s soccer
program and the Monks will be making the side’s second NCAA
Tournament appearance in the coming week. St. Joe’s fell to
Wesleyan College by a 2-0 margin in the national tourney after
winning the GNAC title in 2009. Wesleyan advanced all the way to
the Sweet 16 that fall.
Fans should expect the NCAA to release the national tournament
seedings early next week.
The 2011 GNAC All-Tournament Team was announced following the
Monks’ on-field celebration and five players represent Saint
Joseph’s on the 12-man squad. Sanfilippo is the GNAC
Tournament Most Valuable Player while Johnson, Grade, Palmer and
McIntyre also receive honors.
Amell, Chris Bristol ’15 (Clinton, Conn.) and Joe Young
’14 (McLean, Va.) collected all-tourney honors for the
Cadets.
GNAC All-Tournament Team
MVP- Mike Sanfilippo (Saint Joseph's)
Jamal Howard (Albertus Magnus)
Donato Piroscafo (Albertus Magnus)
Mathew Koenemann (Emmanuel)
Kelly Louis-Charles (Emmanuel)
Anthony Amell (Norwich)
Chris Bristol (Norwich)
Joe Young (Norwich)
Zach Johnson (Saint Joseph's)
Kenny Grade (Saint Joseph's)
Teddy Palmer (Saint Joseph's)
Dan McIntyre (Saint Joseph's)
