STANDISH, Maine – New England College (12-7-0, 5-4-0 NAC) blanked Saint Joseph's College (11-6-1, 6-3-1 GNAC), 2-0, in a non-conference men's soccer match at Westerlea Way on Tuesday afternoon. Senior keeper Scott Benner (Post Falls, Idaho) registered six saves in the losing effort.
The contest stood at a scoreless stalemate at intermission, but the Pilgrims netted what proved to be the game-winner when Rizy Misiri (Concord, N.H.) scored off a Vasili Vakalfotis (Burlington, Mass.) feed in the 60th minute. Freshman forward Ricardi Valme (Cambridge, Mass.) doubled the visitors' advantage when he found the back of the net off a Misiri pass at the 85:45 mark.
New England College made it a 1-0 game at the 59:01 mark when Vakalfotis found Misiri with a right-to-left lofting lead pass just inside the box and the latter finished with a shot to the lower right corner of the net.
The Pilgrims added an insurance marker in the 86th minute when Misir fed Valme with a short left-to-right cross, just outside the box, and the first-year striker delivered a shot between the near post and Benner, who sprawled to make the save to no avail.
New England College held a 15-12 shots advantage while the Monks owned a 6-4 edge in corner kicks on the afternoon.
Pilgrims sophomore keeper Dylan Mix (Charlestown, N.H.) made three saves in the shutout victory.
Both programs resume play Sunday with conference tournament quarterfinal contests, as the Monks host Albertus Magnus College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tourney tilt at 1:00 PM and the Pilgrims travel to Husson University for a 4:00 PM North Atlantic Conference (NAC) playoff contest.
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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.