STANDISH, ME - Despite playing a man down for 48
minutes, Saint Joseph's (1-0) eked out a 2-0 victory over reigning
MASCAC champion Framingham State (0-1) in the Monks' 2009 opener at
Westerlea Way Field on Tuesday afternoon. Doug
MacCallum '10 (Hingham, MA) scored the eventual
game-winner on a play set up by Jack
LaFreniere '13 (Alton, NH) in the 77th minute and
notched an assist 8 minutes later on Paul
Robins' '11 (Cornwall, England) first tally of the
season. SJC keeper Will Pike '10
(Gorham, ME) made four stops in goal to collect his ninth career
shutout. With the win, St. Joe's Head Coach Steve
Babineau posted the first victory of his
collegiate coaching career.
MacCallum's three-point afternoon gave him 63
career points, which puts him atop the Saint Joseph's career
scoring list. Michael Herrick '01 previously held
the mark with 61 points. MacCallum entered the
2009 campaign as the all-time leader in goals as well.
The first half yielded few scoring chances for either club with
most of the action occurring at midfield. Framingham keeper Greg
Halle '11 (Beverly, MA) made a slick diving save to deny SJC
freshman Matt Barlion (Auburn,
ME) of his first NCAA goal in the 34th minute.
Eight minutes after Barlion's attempt, St. Joe's suffered a major
blow when back Greg Cavanaugh '10
(Haverhill, MA) was whistled for his second yellow card of the
game, which meant he was lost for the remainder of the contest and
the Monks would play the last 48 minutes a man short.
The Rams had several scoring opportunities early in the second
half, both of which were turned away by Pike. The
first chance came in the 56th minute when Scott Faria '11 (Fall
Rivier, MA) collected the ball off a corner on the left side of the
net, but his point-blank blast was gathered by
Pike to keep the game scoreless. Just under 10
minutes later, Framingham midfielder Erick Nader '13 (Framingham,
MA) was denied a short breakaway opportunity by
Pike, who deflected Nader's strike over the top of
the net.
After the save, a quick transition downfield by St. Joe's nearly
put the Royal Blue on top at the 65:15 mark.
Barlion was the culprit again as he gained control
of the ball alone in front of the net, but his attempt was blocked
by Halle as the game remained scoreless.
Eleven minutes later St. Joe's broke the deadlock when
LaFreniere drove the length of the field on the
right side, sped around a defender and dealt a perfect pass to
MacCallum, who drilled the ball past a sprawling
Halle to put his team up 1-0.
Robins netted his first marker of the year at the
84:52 mark to give his team a 2-0 cushion. After a rush to the net,
a scramble for a loose ball ensued. MacCallum
collected the ball 10 yards in front of the Framingham goal and
dished a pass to Robins, who one-timed it into the
bottom left corner to cap the game scoring.
For the Rams, Halle made two saves and Nader steered two shots on
net. The physical contest featured 17 player fouls and five yellow
cards.
Saint Joseph's will travel to Patchogue, NY to take on St. Joseph's
(NY) on Friday, September 5th at 2:00 PM. Framingham State will
host Curry College on Friday at 2:00 PM.