STANDISH, ME – Mount Ida College (8-5-2, 5-2-1 GNAC) blanked Saint Joseph's College (10-6-1, 6-2-0 GNAC), 2-0, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's soccer action on a blustery Thursday afternoon at Westerlea Way Field.
Sophomore midfielder Carlos Martinez (Chelsea, Mass.) netted both of the Mustangs' goals in the first half, starting with a booming long-distance kick in the ninth minute. After a Saint Joseph's foul, Martinez launched a bending free kick from near midfield over the head of Monks goalkeeper Scott Benner (Post Falls, Idaho) to lift the visitors to a 1-0 lead at the 36:24 mark of the first half.
Martinez struck again 12 minutes later off a perfect lead pass to double his side's advantage. Pushing upfield, junior Dishawn Miller (Bristol, Conn.) delivered an outstanding long-distance feed to Martinez, who was streaking towards the left post and beat a pair of defenders to create a 1v1 situation with Benner. With little space, the sophomore quickly tapped the ball into the right corner to make it a 2-0 game with 24:36 left in the opening stanza.
Benner made three stops, including a terrific save on a penalty kick by Martinez in the 55th minute, while Mount Ida keeper Mat Pils (Monroe, Conn.) tallied two saves in the shutout effort.
Both teams posted nine shots in the GNAC tilt and Saint Joseph's held a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks on the afternoon. For the Monks, the home loss is the team's second of the year and first since the Royal Blue dropped a 3-2 decision to Thomas College on September 4th.
With the game counting as the 2013 regular-season home finale, the Monks' 10 seniors were honored with a brief ceremony before the start of the conference contest. Peter Dore (Westbrook, Maine), Kyle Shangraw (Westbrook, Maine), Zach Johnson (Westbrook, Maine), Peter Hughes (Waterville, Vt.), Garrett Darnell (Gray, Maine), Calvin Servaes (Hull, Mass.), Dan McIntyre (Sparta, N.J.), Ryan Gallagher (Casper, Wyo.), Joe Murphy (Poland, Maine) and Fabrice Iraduha (Portland, Maine) have helped the Saint Joseph's men's side post a 40-30-6 (.571) record, including a 22-13-2 (.629) mark in GNAC play, along with a conference championship (2011) over the last three-plus seasons.
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 4-3 in the history of the series with Mount Ida College. The Monks had defeated the Mustangs in consecutive meetings prior to this afternoon.
Both teams resume play versus a conference foe on Saturday, when Saint Joseph's travels to Lasell College for a 2:30 PM kick-off and Mount Ida hosts Norwich University at 2:00 PM. For the Monks, the contest against the Lasers marks the 2013 regular-season finale, while the Mustangs cap the season schedule with a home contest against Brandeis University on Monday at 6:00 PM.
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 430-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.
