BOSTON, MA - Saint Joseph's College (3-2-1, 1-0-0 GNAC) blanked Suffolk University (0-5-0, 0-1-0 GNAC), 2-0, behind goals from sophomore Ralph Houanche (Portland, Maine) and senior Kyle Shangraw (Westbrook, Maine) in what was the 2013 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener for both clubs on Saturday evening.
Despite owning a lopsided lead in shots, the Monks failed to score until the 68th minute when potted his first goal of the season. Freshman Victor Santos (Framingham, Mass.), who drew a couple of Rams defenders while controlling the ball in the left corner, passed back to senior Zach Johnson (Westbrook, Maine) just outside the 18. The senior forward quickly delivered a feed to Houanche, who was unmarked on the back post and headed the ball into the net to negate the stalemate at the 67:46 mark.
The Monks added to their lead almost exactly 10 minutes later when Shangraw scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season. Fabrice Iraduha (Portland, Maine) unleashed a bouncing pass to Shangraw, who took control at the 25, flicked the ball over a charging defender with his heal, and regained possession before beating Suffolk netminder Nicholas Chamma, who left his line to challenge, with a shot to the right corner with 12:34 remaining.
The victory was the Monks' third-consecutive with all three coming by way of the shutout. Sophomore goalkeeper Scott Benner (Post Falls, Idaho) made a pair of saves to earn his first shutout of the season in the victory while Chamma faced 19 shots and recorded five stops in a losing effort for the Rams.
With the win, the Monks are now 4-3-1 in the history of the series with the Rams. St. Joe's and Suffolk dueled to a 1-1 tie at Westerlea Way Field last fall.
Saint Joseph's will host University of New England at 4:00 PM on Wednesday.
Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.