STANDISH, Maine – Freshman forward Brett Mattos (Mahopac, N.Y.) scored twice to help launch Saint Joseph's College (6-3-1, 2-1-0 GNAC) past Albertus Magnus College (6-4-0, 2-2-0 GNAC), 3-0, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's soccer contest at Westerlea Way Field on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Monks extend their win streak to four games.
THE LEAD
Mattos netted his sixth goal of the season at the 15:18 mark of the first half, as the rookie standout scored off an Austin Bell (Gorham, Maine) feed to put the hosts up 1-0. With an open lane, Bell delivered a through pass into the box that appeared to be cut off by Falcons sophomore Griffin Volta (Orange, Conn.), but the ball squirted free and Mattos was in position to tap it into a wide open goal.
As it played out, the Mattos marker – his second game-clincher of the season - proved to be all the offense Saint Joseph's would require. The Monks tacked on a pair of goals in the second stanza, with junior Sean Baker (Medfield, Mass.) and Mattos scoring off Johnny Thomas (Boston, Mass.) and Kartikeya Swarup (Delhi, India) passes in the 53rd and 75th minutes, respectively.
NOTABLES
- SJC: Mattos leads the Monks with seven goals and 15 total points through 10 matches – he is the first freshman to net at least seven tallies since Jack LaFreniere '13 totaled the same amount over 18 matches in 2009
- SJC: Bell, who ranked fourth in NCAA DIII Men's Soccer in assists per game (0.88) as of September 27th, now has eight helpers this fall – the third-highest single-season total in team history (10, Paul Robins, 2008) is the record
- AMC: Junior forward Alexis Garcia-Romero (West Haven, Conn.) led the Falcons with five shots in the loss and clanged a shot off the crossbar in the 17th minute
THE KEEPERS
Saint Joseph's senior goalkeeper Scott Benner (Post Falls, Idaho) stopped all four shots he faced, including a terrific save on a Garcia-Romero bid in the 37th minute, to notch his second shutout of the year and 12th of his collegiate career.
Volta made a trio of saves for Albertus.
TEAM TOTALS
Both teams recorded 13 shots in the conference contest while the Monks owned a 6-1 corner kicks advantage on the afternoon. Fouls were also fairly even, with the Falcons being called for 13 infractions opposed to the Monks' 11.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 4-7-0 all-time against Albertus Magnus College, a team that had defeated the Monks by identical 1-0 scores in each of the last two meetings entering today's contest. St. Joe's has now posted a pair of shutouts versus the Falcons, with the last goose-egg effort coming during the 2009 campaign.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's travels to Boston next Saturday for a 4:00 PM match versus GNAC-rival Suffolk University (0-9-1, 0-3-1 GNAC). Albertus Magnus hosts Coast Guard in a non-conference game at 3:30 PM on Tuesday.
#GOMONKS
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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 474-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.
