PORTLAND, Maine (10/22/16) – Saint Joseph's College (13-1-4, 8-0-1 GNAC) blanked Lasell College (1-16-0, 0-9-0 GNAC), 5-0, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's soccer action at Deering Memorial Stadium on Saturday evening.
Saint Joseph's, which clinched the top seed in the GNAC Tournament with a victory over Suffolk University on Wednesday, will host #8 Mount Ida College in a tourney quarterfinal on Saturday, October 29th.
Lasell was held to just two shots in the contest as sophomores Blake Mullen (Manchester, Conn.) and Zack Moody (Steep Falls, Maine) combined for the Monks' 13th shutout in 18 contests this season. St. Joe's posted a 25-2 shot advantage in the contest and earned 12 of the game's 13 corner kicks.
The Monks scored three goals on 15 first-half shots to take a commanding lead, including two in less than three minutes. Sophomore Kartikeya Swarup (Delhi, India) notched the first game's first goal in the 23rd minute, beating two defenders before tucking the ball past Lasell freshman Patrick McAvoy (Stony Point, N.Y.) and into the left side of the net.
Junior Austin Bell (Gorham, Maine) doubled the Monks' lead in the 27th minute, picking the ball up off a blocked shot off an assist from freshman JoJo Strobino (Clifton, N.J.).
Freshman Cody Elliott (Gorham, Maine) finished the first-half scoring and gave the Monks a 3-0 lead at the 42:14 marker, beating McAvoy off junior Daniel Fox's (South Portland, Maine) cross into the box.
Sophomore Kenan Omerbasic (Windsor Locks, Conn.) had Lasell's best -- and first -- chance of the game in the 61st minute, ripping a free kick high over goal from about 30 yards out.
Sophomore Rory Twomey (South Windsor, Conn.) and junior Trevor Lopes (Cumberland, R.I.) finished the scoring in less than the next ten minutes for the Monks. Twomey slid the 64th-minute goal past McAvoy after taking a feed from Mitchell Duncan, while Lopes picked up a rebound from Strobino for the game's final goal.
McAvoy made eight of his 11 saves in the first half for the Lasers, but saw his record fall to 0-7.
The Lasers return to action on Tuesday, October 25 for their final contest of the season against Brandeis University with kickoff set for 3:00 p.m.
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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.
