MEN'S SOCCER SEMIFINALS: Saint Joseph's, JWU Both Earn 2-0 Home Victories Tuesday Evening
No. 2 Johnson & Wales will travel to top seed SJC on Saturday (Time TBD) as the two programs captured GNAC Tournament Semifinal wins on Tuesday.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
#1 SJC 2, #4 COLBY-SAWYER 0
STANDISH, Maine – Top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (19-0-0) blanked #4 Colby-Sawyer College (7-8-2), 2-0, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Soccer Tournament semifinal contest at the SJC Athletics Complex on Tuesday evening.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS
With the victory, Saint Joseph's advances to the GNAC Championship game for the third-consecutive season and will host #2 Johnson & Wales University (13-5-3) in the title bout on Saturday, start time TBD. The Wildcats defeated third-seeded Norwich University, 2-0, in the other conference semifinal this evening in Providence. For Colby-Sawyer, the loss signals the end of the 2018 season.
THE LEAD
Junior Jackson Taylor (Gorham, Maine) tallied a goal and an assist to lead Saint Joseph's, ranked fifth and ninth nationally in this week's D3soccer.com and United Soccer Coaches polls, respectively, past Colby-Sawyer in tournament play.
THE REST OF THE STORY
After nearly 40 minutes of scoreless play, senior midfielder Rory Twomey (South Windsor, Conn.) scored his fourth goal of the season off a Taylor pass at the 39:27 mark. Despite recording numerous scoring chances in the interim, Saint Joseph's did not add to the lead until the 64th minute, when Taylor delivered a free kick – taken from the right side of the field - to the top left corner of the net from about 35 yards out.
THE KEEPERS
SJC senior Blake Mullen (Manchester, Conn.) did not face a shot, but thwarted several attempts in the box, to earn his 17th win of the season and 56th of his career. Colby-Sawyer freshman Lucas Boetsch (Rockport, Maine) was outstanding in the loss with 18 saves, including several highlight-reel stops, in the losing bid.
TEAM STATS
Saint Joseph's held sizeable advantages in shots (35-3), shots on goal (20-0), and corner kicks (8-1) in the victory.
NOTEWORTHY
- The win extends the Monks' undefeated streak to 40 games, the longest current stretch without a loss in NCAA DIII Men's Soccer and sixth-longest in DIII Men's Soccer history
- The Monks continue to rack up shutouts and have not allowed a goal since September 15th in a 3-1 triumph over Johnson & Wales; the shutout minutes streak stands at 1,168:40 minutes – the sixth-longest in NCAA DIII Men's Soccer history (the 2017 SJC team set the record with 1,840:33 minutes)
- St. Joe's are now 27-0-3 in their last 30 home games, a stretch that includes a 20-0-1 record at the SJC Athletics Complex
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
Saint Joseph's is 3-0-1 in the history of the series with Colby-Sawyer College, which joined the GNAC this fall after competing in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) since 2011.
Courtesy of SJC Athletics Communications.
#2 JWU 2, #3 NORWICH 0
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The last two years, Norwich University has kept the Johnson & Wales University men's soccer team out of the GNAC finals. The Wildcats took advantage of their third opportunity and defeated the Cadets, 2-0, on Tuesday.
Records:
Norwich: 11-4-4
Johnson & Wales: 13-5-3
Statistical Leaders:
Teagan Drake (JWU): 1 goal
Riley McNicholas (JWU): 1 goal
Goalkeepers:
NU: Brendan Germano (L, 6-2-4) 4 saves
JWU: Nicholas Mancini (W, 6-2-1) 6 saves
Of Note:
The win sends the Wildcats to Saturday's GNAC Championship match at Saint Joseph's of Maine. Game time is TBA.
A foul by Norwich in the box gave JWU a penalty kick in the fourth minute. Teagan Drake drilled it home to put JWU up 1-0.
The Wildcats increased the pressure on the Cadets and got the second goal in the 33rd minute from Riley McNicholas with the assist to Andrew Vecere.
Goalkeeper Nicholas Mancini made six saves to record his sixth shutout of the year.
Both teams matched up well against one another, leaving statistics near even in shots, 18-13, and corners, 6-5, with JWU getting the better of both.
Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications.
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
– #TheGNAC –