BOSTON, Mass. – Graduate student forward Austin Ward (Exeter, N.H.) scored a pair of goals to lift Saints Joseph's College (3-2-0, 2-0-0 GNAC) over Emmanuel College (2-2-2, 0-1-1 GNAC), 2-0, Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's soccer action at Roberto Clemente Field.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Emmanuel opened the match strong attempting a pair of shots and a corner kick within the first 10 minutes of play, forcing SJC senior keeper Mike Sheridan (Folsom, Pa.) to make a diving save in the eighth minute on a left-footed rocket by EC senior Alec Erskine.
• The Monks took advantage of an Emmanuel miscue midway through the half, allowing them to gain a throw-in deep in their offensive third of the pitch. Senior back Jarred Greenleaf (Scarborough, Maine) hucked a dangerous ball into the Emmanuel penalty area and after bouncing around found the head of Ward who put away his first goal of the 2022 campaign to put Saint Joseph's ahead 1-0 at the 27:32 marker.
• The score remained at 1-0 SJC heading into halftime with both sides attempting three shots each to go along with one corner attempt from both sides at the intermission.
• The action intensified in the second half with each team committing 10 fouls during the closing stanza resulting in more physical play and five total cards.
• A late Emmanuel yellow card inside the box gave the Monks a penalty kick with 2:46 left in the contest and Ward took care of business to earn the brace and secure the 2-0 road win for the Monks.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Sheridan earned the win to improve to 3-2 on the year making two saves for his first career solo shutout victory.
• EC keeper Vincent Conelli (West Hartford, Conn.) suffered the loss to move to 2-2-2 on the season, recording a pair of stops in the defeat.
• The two-goal outing for Ward was the sixth multi-goal effort of the captain's career.
• The Monks extend their GNAC unbeaten streak to 56 games (52-0-4) dating back to the 2015 campaign.
• SJC moves to 14-3-1 all-time against Emmanuel in 18 career meetings and has now won eight straight against the Saints.

UP NEXT

• Emmanuel is off until Wednesday, September 21 when they travel to Northfield, Vt. for a 7:00 PM GNAC tilt vs. Norwich University.
• SJC has a quicker turnaround, heading to Colby on Monday, September 19 for a non-conference affair scheduled to kick off at 4:00 PM.

COURTESY OF EMMANUEL COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION