YARMOUTH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (12-1-4, 7-0-1 GNAC) clipped Suffolk University (7-8-1, 5-3-0 GNAC), 1-0, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's soccer action at Yarmouth High School on Wednesday afternoon.

THE LEAD

Saint Joseph's broke a scoreless stalemate in the 64th minute, when sophomore Brett Mattos (Mahopac, N.Y.) netted his team-leading sixth goal of the season off a through pass from freshman JoJo Strobino (Clifton, N.J.). After receiving the pass, Mattos took three dribbles and placed a shot past Suffolk freshman keeper Jon Brodeur (Northampton, Mass.) for his fifth game-winner of the year.

With the victory, Saint Joseph's clinches the top seed in the GNAC Tournament for the second time in program history and first since the 2009 campaign, when the Monks won the GNAC Championship and registered the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance.

Suffolk had numerous chances to get on the board in the first half, as Saint Joseph's sophomore netminder Blake Mullen (Manchester, Conn.) made huge saves on breakaway attempts by Jordan Casey (East Hampton, Conn.) and Christian Restrepo (Everett, Mass.) in the 10th and 40th minutes, respectively. Senior forward Alberto Bittan (Venezuela) registered what may have been the Rams' best scoring chance of the afternoon, as the GNAC's leading goal scorer clanged a beautiful bicycle kick shot off the post at the 42:06 mark.

THE KEEPERS

Mullen recorded six saves in what was his 12th shutout performance of the season and is now 12-1-3 this fall. Brodeur also played well and made nine saves in the losing effort.

TEAM STATS

Saint Joseph's held advantages in shots (21-15), shots on goal (10-6), and corner kicks (11-4) in the victory. The Monks were flagged for 12 fouls while the Rams were hit with 11 infractions on the afternoon.

NOTEWORTHY

• SJC junior Austin Bell (Gorham, Maine) also steered a shot off the post in the 76th minute
• With the victory, the Monks extend their undefeated streak to 15 games
• Saint Joseph's has not allowed an opponent to score in the last 1,035 minutes of play – the last team to score on St. Joe's was Lyndon State in a 2-1 SJC triumph on September 13th (the JWU goal on October 1st was an own goal)

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

With the result, Saint Joseph's improves to 6-4-1 all-time versus Suffolk University and has now posted consecutive 1-0 victories over the Rams.

NEXT!

Both teams resume conference play with home games on Saturday, when Saint Joseph's hosts Lasell College (3:00 PM) and Suffolk takes on Rivier University (1:00 PM).

#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.