STANDISH, ME – Regionally-ranked Amherst College (2-0-2) handled Saint Joseph's (4-4), 7-0, in non-conference men's soccer action at Westerlea Way Field Sunday afternoon.
The Lord Jeffs, ranked fifth in the most recent NSCAA New England Region Poll, controlled the match from horn to horn and held commanding advantages in shots (34-2) and corner kicks (9-0). Amherst, which advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season last fall, took a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute off an Ian Rothkopf '11 (Harvard, MA) score.
Another Rothkpf tally less than nine minutes later sparked a three-goal surge that spanned just over two minutes, as the visitors held a daunting 4-0 cushion with 24:36 left in the first half. Casey McNamara '13 (Montclair, NJ) found the netting at the 19:47 mark off a James Mooney '12 (Princeton, NJ) pass and Spencer Noon '13 (Farmington, CT) beat SJC keeper Nick Campasano '12 (Goffstown, NH) 47 seconds later to account for the four-goal lead. Julien Aoyama '14 (Nasberth, PA) was credited with an assist on the Noon marker.
Nearly 40 minutes of scoreless play ensued before Federico Sucre '13 (Caracas, Venezuela) scored a header goal off a T.J. Kelley '12 (Walnut Creek, CA) corner in the 61st minute. McNamara notched his second tally of the game off a Max Fikke '14 (New York, NY) pass at the 65:01 mark and Chris Linsmayer '11 (Denver, CO) capped the game scoring with a 72nd-minute goal after a scramble in front of the St. Joe's net.
Campasano made 10 saves in the losing effort and Kenny Grade '14 (Hampton, NH/Saint Thomas Aquinas), who entered the game after the Linsmayer marker, registered three saves with one goal allowed in his first collegiate appearance.
The Monks haven't allowed seven goals since suffering a 7-0 defeat at the hands of Johnson & Wales University on October 13th, 2007. St. Joe's, which was held without a goal in a 3-0 setback to Lasell yesterday, hasn't endured back to back shutouts since early in the 2008 season.
Saint Joseph's will play at University of Maine-Farmington Wednesday, September 22nd at 4:00 PM, while Amherst returns to the pitch next Saturday with a home game against NESCAC rival Connecticut College at 2:30 PM.
