STANDISH, Maine - #6/10 Saint Joseph's College (16-0-0, 11-0-0 GNAC) toppled Lasell College (4-11-2, 3-6-2 GNAC), 13-0, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's soccer contest at the SJC Athletics Complex on Saturday afternoon.
THE LEAD
Sophomore Noah Elmore (Berlin, Vt.) scored three goals while senior Jesse Ramirez (Dumont, N.J.) and freshman Austin Ward (North Andover, Mass.) netted a pair apiece as nine different players found the back of the net in the lopsided triumph.
THE REST OF THE STORY
The Monks were held off the board until the 25th minute, when Elmore kicked off his hat trick performance with a strike off a Jackson Taylor (Gorham, Maine) feed. The goal sparked an eight-minute span during which the hosts netted five goals and junior Ryan Buonaiuto (Scituate, R.I.) scored his fifth of the year, off a Mitchell Cyr (Rochester, N.H.) pass, at the 41:28 mark to lift St. Joe's to a 6-0 halftime advantage.
Goals from Noah Robinson (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.), Mitchell Duncan (Sanford, Maine) and Elmore in the first 17 minutes of the second half made it a 9-0 game and Ramirez scored twice in a matter of 65 seconds to extend the SJC lead to 11-0 with 26 minutes remaining.
The Monks emptied their bench – 29 different players saw time in the win – but the offensive pressure continued, as freshman Jason Umbehr (Wallingford, Conn.) and sophomore Thomas Hennessey (Canterbury, N.H.) scored goals just 42 seconds apart in the closing four minutes. Junior Brennan Goodrich (Essex Junction, Vt.) was credited with an assist on both tallies.
THE KEEPERS
SJC senior Blake Mullen (Manchester, Conn.) turned away the only shot he faced in 63:40 minutes and sophomore David Walbridge (Hampden, Mass.) made a pair of saves in 26:20 of relief.
The Lasers split time in goal, as starter Teo Cugno allowed seven goals with six saves in the first half and Jackson Burhans yielded six markers with seven stops in the second frame.
TEAM STATS
Saint Joseph's posted sizeable leads in shots (39-6), shots on goal (26-3), and corner kicks (10-1) on the afternoon.
NOTEWORTHY:
- The Monks' 13-goal output is the most scored in a single game in the 29-year history of the SJC men's soccer program (previous high: 11, vs. Green Mountain, 9/10/15)
- With today's scoring barrage, the 2018 team broke the SJC single-season records for goals (72) and points (202) – surpassing the marks of 67 and 195, respectively, set last season
- The Monks have also tied the program's winning streak record with their 16th-consecutive win
- Saint Joseph's extends their undefeated streak to 37 games, which is tied with Rutgers-Camden (2012) for the eighth-longest string of contests without a loss in NCAA DIII Men's Soccer history
- St. Joe's is now 24-0-3 in their last 27 home games with the team's last loss being a 2-0 setback at the hands of University of New England on September 4th, 2016; this stretch includes a 17-0-1 record at the SJC Athletics Complex
SENIOR MOMENT
Prior to the start of the contest, the Monks held a brief ceremony to honor the program's nine seniors: Cyr, Ramirez, Mullen, Dalton Gaumer (Corona, Calif.), Brett Mattos (Mahopac, N.Y.), Nicholas Seta (Hampton, N.H.), James Stevens (Marshfield, Mass.), Rory Twomey (South Windsor, Conn.), and Tyler Wells (Rochester, N.H.).
During their time at Saint Joseph's, the 2019 graduating class has helped the Monks post an incredible 61-9-9 (.772) overall record, including a 33-3-2 (.868) mark in conference play, with a pair of GNAC Championships.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
With the win, Saint Joseph's is now 5-10 all-time versus Lasell College and has defeated the Lasers in three-consecutive meetings by a collective 23-0 score.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host Salem State University in the team's regular-season finale on Tuesday at 6:00 PM.
Men's Soccer Senior Day
