STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (1-1-0) rallied from an early deficit to defeat Endicott College (1-1-0), 2-1, in an action-packed non-conference men's soccer game at the SJC Athletics Complex on Tuesday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Endicott grabbed a 1-0 edge just 7:38 into the game when junior Joe Akisik (Sudbury, Mass.) cleaned up his own rebound with a shot to the top left corner past the reach of St. Joe's senior keeper Mike Sheridan (Folsom, Pa.).
Both teams had multiple scoring chances during the remainder of the opening period, but the Gulls' 1-0 lead remained until sophomore Gus Ford (Falmouth, Maine) belted a shot that slipped through the hands of Endicott senior goalie Zach Regulbuto (Somers, Conn.) and into the net 1:25 into the second half. Sophomore Gracien Mukwa (Portland, Maine) was credited with an assist on the play.
Mukwa proceeded to net the eventual game-winner in the 69th minute. Thanks to relentless pressure, the Monks possessed the ball for the better part of the second stanza and the forechecking paid off at the 68:06 mark, when Austin Ward (Exeter, N.H.) broke up an outlet pass in the left half of the box and quickly pushed the ball to Mukwa, who took two steps and lofted a shot to the back of the net.
Regulbuto helped the Gulls maintain the one-goal deficit with a tremendous save on a Icaro Vieira (Westborough, Mass.) shot in the 76th minute. Working through several Endicott defenders, Vieira unleashed a shot that was headed toward the top right corner of the net, but Regulbuto punched the ball over the crossbar.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (18-12) and corner kicks (5-1) while both teams steered eight shots on target on the evening.
THE KEEPERS:
Sheridan made six saves for the Monks while Regulbuto turned away five shots for the Gulls.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 4-8-1 versus Endicott College and extends an undefeated streak versus the Gulls to four games. The Monks have not lost to Endicott since the 2014 campaign.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will host Norwich University in a rematch of the 2021 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship on Saturday at 1:00 PM.
