Monks and Rams Lock Heads in 1-1 Draw

Jack LaFreniere '13
Jack LaFreniere '13

STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's (4-4-2, 2-2-1 GNAC) and Suffolk University (6-3-1, 4-2-1 GNAC) played to a 1-1 draw in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's soccer contest at Westerlea Way Field on Wednesday afternoon. Senior Jack LaFreniere (Alton, N.H.) netted the Monks' lone goal in the 10th minute of play.

On an outstanding individual effort, LaFreniere streaked the length of the field, dangling through several Suffolk defenders along the way, and tapped the ball to Ross Suleski (Amesbury, Mass./St. Thomas Aquinas) near the 35 on the right. Suleski quickly touched the sphere back to LaFreniere, who took a few gather steps and fired a kick past Suffolk keeper Nicholas Chamma (Rio de Janero, Brazil) into the top left corner of the net.

The 1-0 lead remained until the 59:08 mark when sophomore Djibril Niang (Dakar, Senegal) scored off an Eduardo Li (Curridabat, Costa Rica) pass. Niang, sprinting towards the net, collected a long, lofted feed from Li and booted the ball beyond the reach of Monks' freshman netminder Scott Benner (Post Falls, Idaho) to knot the game at one-apiece.

SJC senior midfielder Teddy Palmer (Scarborough, Maine) registered all three of the Monks' shots in the overtime frames, but none of the attempts were on target.

Benner made three saves in goal while Chamma posted five saves for the Rams. Overall, Saint Joseph's held sizeable advantages in both shots (16-7) and corner kicks (8-1) and was hit with 16 fouls compared to seven infractions imposed on the Rams.

Saint Joseph's, which ended the Rams' 2011 campaign with a 3-0 defeat in a GNAC Tournament quarterfinal last fall, is now 3-3-1 in the history of the series with Suffolk University.

Both teams resume play with GNAC contests on Saturday, when St. Joe's hosts Emmanuel College at 2:30 PM and Suffolk travels across town to face Emerson College in a 1:00 PM start.

 

 

Saint Joseph's College, founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, celebrates its Centennial year in 2012 with a theme of "Realize the Promise" – honoring our commitment to educating well-rounded graduates who combine career focus with classic liberal arts studies. A Private, Catholic, primarily residential, coeducational liberal arts institution, Saint Joseph's welcomes students of all ages and all faiths. The campus, located 18 miles northwest of Portland and just two hours from Boston, encompasses 350 acres along the shore of beautiful Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine. Enrollment ranges between 1,000 and 1,100 students annually. Saint Joseph's offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, nursing and business fields in a value-centered environment.