STANDISH, Maine – Senior midfielder Rory Twomey (South Windsor, Conn.) converted a penalty kick attempt with 2:15 remaining to lift #5/10 Saint Joseph's College (17-0, 11-0 GNAC) past Salem State University (11-3-2, 4-1-1 MASCAC), 1-0, in a non-conference men's soccer contest on a rainy Tuesday night at the SJC Athletics Complex.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Despite holding a 25-5 advantage in shots, the Monks were unable to penetrate the Vikings' stacked defense until the Vikings committed a foul in the box following a throw-in at the 87:21 mark, setting the stage for Twomey, who is now 2-2 on PK attempts this fall.
THE KEEPERS
SJC sophomore David Walbridge (Hampden, Mass.) made a pair of saves to register his second shutout in as many starts this season while his counterpart, Salem State senior Christopher Jimenez (Nashua, N.H.), posted four saves in a losing effort.
TEAM STATS
Saint Joseph's, ranked fifth and 10th in this week's D3soccer.com and United Soccer Coaches national polls, respectively, held the lead in shots (25-5), shots on goal (6-2), and corner kicks (9-2) on the evening.
NOTEWORTHY
- With the victory, Saint Joseph's completes the regular season with a perfect 17-0-0 record and remains as the only NCAA DIII men's soccer team without a loss or tie
- With tonight's win, SJC broke the program's winning streak record with their 17th-consecutive triumph
- The Monks have extended their undefeated streak to 38 games, the longest current stretch in NCAA DIII men's soccer
- St. Joe's was held without a goal in the first half for the fourth time this season and first occasion since October 2nd when the Monks tipped Emmanuel College by a 1-0 score
- The Monks are now 25-0-3 in their last 28 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 an 18-0-1 record at the SJC Athletics Complex
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
Saint Joseph's is now 1-1 all-time versus Salem State University; a team the Monks last played on September 7th, 1996 – a 3-0 setback.
NEXT!
Both teams are back in action on Saturday, when the Monks – the top seed in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament – host eighth-seeded Emmanuel College in a tourney quarterfinal at 3:00 PM and Salem State closes out the regular season at Westfield State University in an 11:00 AM kick-off.