NEW HAVEN, CT - #2 Albertus Magnus (14-4-1, 6-2-1 GNAC) defeated #7 Saint Joseph's (6-11-2, 3-5-2 GNAC), 2-0, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament Quarterfinal on Saturday afternoon. SJC netminder Nick Campasano '12 (Goffstown, NH) made nine stops in the Monks' season-ending setback.
The Falcons secured both of their goals in the first half en route to the shutout triumph. Junior forward Jamal Howard (West Haven, CT) tallied a 21st-minute marker off a Steven Zapata '13 (Hamden, CT) corner and Rafael Guillen '14 (Bakersfield, CA) found the back of the net in the 33rd minute with a header off another Zapata corner to account for the game scoring.
Albertus outshot St. Joe's, the 2009 GNAC Champions, by a 9-4 margin in the first half, but the Royal Blue came out fighting in the second stanza, outshooting the Falcons by an 11-8 tally in the latter half.
The Monks' best opportunity came in the 80th minute when senior midfielder Paul Robins (Cornwall, England) blasted a shot on goal. Robins' upper 90 shot was denied by AMC goalkeeper Donato Piroscafo '14 (Naugatuck, CT), however, as the freshman keeper made a diving save to preserve the shutout.
With the end of the season comes the end of five college soccer careers, as seniors Eamonn Harrigan (Caribou, ME), Banak Thiwat (Cape Elizabeth, ME), Joe Happnie (Rockland, MA), Brandon Noltkamper (Bath, ME) and Robins all walked off the pitch while donning the Royal Blue for the last time. The quintet helped the Monks post a 37-37-9 record with four GNAC tourney appearances, a GNAC title and the program's only trip to the NCAA Tournament during their time at Saint Joseph's.
Albertus moves on to face #3 Norwich University in a GNAC Semifinal match on Tuesday at 1:00 PM.