Bell Hat Trick Propels Monks Past Mustangs in GNAC Quarterfinal

Bell Hat Trick Propels Monks Past Mustangs in GNAC Quarterfinal

PORTLAND, Maine – Junior forward Austin Bell (Gorham, Maine) scored three goals to help lift top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (14-1-4, 8-0-1 GNAC) past #8 Mount Ida College (5-10-3, 2-6-1 GNAC), 4-0, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Soccer Tournament Quarterfinal on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Deering Memorial Stadium.

THE LEAD

Bell scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 32nd minute with a one-timed header strike, to the top left corner of the net, off a terrific pass from freshman defender Noah Robinson (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) and tacked on two more goals just 1:26 apart later in the game to complete the hat-trick performance.

With the victory, Saint Joseph's advances in the GNAC Tournament and will host #4 Suffolk University in a conference semifinal on Tuesday afternoon, start time TBD. The Rams blanked #5 Albertus Magnus College, 2-0, in other quarterfinal action this afternoon.

For Mount Ida, the loss signals the end of the 2016 campaign.

TEAM STATS

Saint Joseph's dominated the stat sheet, outshooting Mount Ida by a 36-3 margin – including a 19-0 shots on goal advantage – with a 9-4 lead in corner kicks.

THE KEEPERS

Mount Ida junior Riley Ford (Guilderland, N.Y.) kept his team in the game for the better part of the afternoon and made 15 saves in a losing effort. Saint Joseph's sophomore Blake Mullen (Manchester, Conn.) was untested in registering his team-record 12th shutout of the season.

NOTEWORTHY

  • The Mustangs clung to the 1-0 deficit until the 74:37 mark, when senior Nicholas Borowski (Webster, Mass.) potted his third marker of the season off a Trevor Lopes (Cumberland, R.I.) pass
  • Bell scored his second goal at the 80:30 timestamp and capped his first collegiate hat trick with another unassisted strike at the 81:56 mark
  • In setting up the Monks' first goal, Robinson chased down a lead pass from senior Sean Baker (Medfield, Mass.) down the left sideline and unleashed a perfect odd-angle feed, just before the ball hit the end line, to the far post where Bell finished the play with a header
  • Both teams had a shot clang off the crossbar in the tourney match, as sophomore Mitchell Cyr (Rochester, N.H.) found iron at the 17:37 mark and Mount Ida senior Tyler Grothusen (Ramsey, N.J.) hit the pipe in the 79th minute
  • With the victory, Saint Joseph's extends the program-record undefeated streak to 17 games
  • The Monks have now pitched eight-consecutive shutouts and have not allowed an opponent to score in the last 13 games (the 10/1 JWU goal was an own goal)

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 7-4-0 in the history of the series with Mount Ida College, a team the Monks defeated by a 1-0 margin earlier this season (9/28). Four goals is the most the Monks have ever scored versus the Mustangs.

SENIOR MOMENT

Prior to the start of the match, the Monks held a brief ceremony to honor the program's two seniors: Sean Baker and Nicholas Borowski, a duo that has helped Saint Joseph's post a 40-31-6 (.563) record over the last four seasons. 

 

#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.