STANDISH, Maine – Top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (14-1-2, 12-0-0 GNAC) will host #5 University of Saint Joseph (12-4-1, 8-4-0 GNAC) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Soccer Tournament Semifinal game at the SJC Athletics Complex on Tuesday at 5:00 PM.

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

Saint Joseph's blanked #8 Colby-Sawyer College, 3-0, in a GNAC quarterfinal at home on Saturday as Noah Elmore (Berlin, Vt.), Gus Ford (Falmouth, Maine), and Icaro Vieira (Westborough, Mass.) scored and graduate goalkeeper David Walbridge (Hampden, Mass.) made one save in the shutout triumph. Saint Joseph's held considerable advantages in shots (36-3), shots on goal (17-1) and corner kicks (7-1) in the triumph.

University of Saint Joseph defeated #4 Albertus Magnus College, 4-0, in what was the only upset in conference quarterfinal action on Saturday. Leading 1-0 with 13 minutes left, the Blue Jays rattled off three goals in a matter of seven minutes to put the game out of reach. USJ held slight advantages in shots (13-12), shots on goal (10-7), and corner kicks (6-5) in a tourney tilt that was evenly matched in every category other than the final score.

BRACKETOLOGY:

10/30/21 - GNAC QUARTERFINALS:

#1 Saint Joseph's def. #8 Colby-Sawyer, 3-0
#2 Norwich def. #7 Emmanuel, 3-3 (5-4 in PK's)
#3 Johnson & Wales def. #6 Regis, 4-0
#5 University of Saint Joseph def. #4 Albertus Magnus, 4-0

11/2/21 – GNAC SEMIFINALS:

#5 University of Saint Joseph @ #1 Saint Joseph's, 5:00 PM
#3 Johnson & Wales @ #2 Norwich, 4:00 PM

11/6/21 – GNAC CHAMPIONSHIP

5/#1 winner vs. #3/#2 winner @ highest remaining seed, TBD

SEASON AT A GLANCE:

Saint Joseph's:

• The Monks have been ranked seventh in the United Soccer Coaches Region 1 Poll for four-consecutive weeks and are listed ninth in the most recent NCAA DIII Region 1 Rankings
• Through 17 contests, Saint Joseph's has outscored opponents by a combined 41-11 score with nine shutouts; in GNAC play, the Monks netted 33 goals while allowing just four in 12 games
• With their triumph over Dean College last Tuesday, the Monks extended their GNAC regular-season undefeated streak to 54 games (50-0-4)
• St. Joe's is 38-1-2 (.927) with 32 shutouts all-time at the SJC Athletics Complex
• The Monks currently lead the conference in goals against average (0.63) and shutouts (9) and rank second in assists (39), third in shots (303), goals scored (41), shots per game (17.8), shots on goal (141), and corner kicks (106)

University of Saint Joseph:

• The Blue Jays have been even better on the road (7-2-1) than at home (5-2-0) this fall
• USJ currently leads the conference in shot percentage (.158) and penalty-kick conversions (4-6) and rank second in shots (322), goals (51), shots per game (18.9), and shots on goal (158) and third in assists (36) and shutouts (7)
• The Blue Jays have outscored opponents by a 51-17 collective margin, including a 36-12 combined score in away games

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Saint Joseph's:

• Graduate student defender Colin Grant (Harvard, Mass.) leads the team in goals (9), points (24), and game-winning goals (4)
• Senior forward Kuma Onyejose (East Greenwich, R.I.) has netted seven goals with six assists for 20 total points
• Senior midfielder Austin Ward (North Andover, Mass.) has produced 17 points with six goals and five assists in 15 games
• Graduate defender Noah Elmore (Berlin, Vt.) has contributed with three goals and six assists for 12 points – all three of his goals have counted as game-winners
• Freshman forward Gus Ford (Falmouth, Maine) has emerged as one of the Monks' top offensive threats with five goals and two assists for 12 points

University of Saint Joseph:

• Senior forward DeAnte Anderson (Bloomfield, Conn.) has scored 21 goals with five assists for 47 total points and leads the GNAC in goals while ranking second in points and third in shots (75)
• Sophomore forward Dane Stephens (Jamaica) has been one of the top first-year players in the conference this fall with six goals and 10 assists for 22 total points
• Junior Juan Torres (Hartford, Conn.) has produced 11 points with four goals and three assists
• Junior midfielders Charles Mputu (Hartford, Conn.) and Michael Torres (Hartford, Conn.) have both netted 10 points this season

KEEPER COMPARISON:

Saint Joseph's:

• Graduate student David Walbridge (Hampden, Mass.) has picked up right where All-American Blake Mullen '19 left off and is enjoying another fine season as a second-year starter in net for the Monks. Having allowed just nine goals with 60 saves over 1,338 minutes of play, the 2019 GNAC Goalkeeper of the Year leads the conference in save percentage (.871) and goals against average (0.61).
• Among all active NCAA DIII Men's Soccer goalkeepers, Walbridge is ranked third in career save percentage (.862) and fifth in goals against average (0.47).

University of Saint Joseph's:

• USJ sophomore Jose Miguel Garcia Martin (Madrid, Spain) emerged as the Blue Jays' starting keeper midseason and has posted a 1.03 goals against average with an .833 save percentage in 10 starts – the rookie netminder has allowed 10 goals and made 50 saves in 875 minutes

ATTITUDE REFLFECTS LEADERSHIP:

Saint Joseph's Head Coach Will Pike '11 is in his third season at the helm and currently owns a 30-3-5 (.790) overall record with a 21-0-2 (.913) mark in GNAC play as the SJC skipper. Including three seasons as the Monks' top assistant under former Head Coach Adrian Dubois, Pike has helped St. Joe's post an incredible 85-6-13 (.817) record overall with a 49-0-4 (.925) GNAC slate.

In his first season as the Monks' leader, Coach Pike guided the Royal Blue to a 16-2-3 record with a 9-0-2 mark in GNAC play en route to earning the #2 seed in the conference tourney.

University of Saint Joseph Head Coach Paul Wright is in his third season with the Blue Jays and owns a 32-15-4 (.628) career record with a 20-11-3 (.588) mark in conference play. Under his watch, USJ has advanced to the postseason all three years with a semifinal game appearance in 2019.

THE LAST TIME WE MET:

SJC defeated USJ by a 2-0 score in what was the 2021 GNAC-opener for both programs in West Hartford on September 10th. Ford and senior defender Michael Wildes (Winslow, Maine) scored just over a minute apart with roughly 30 minutes remaining to break what was previously a scoreless stalemate.

In net, Walbridge made four saves while Garcia Martin turned away six of eight shots on the afternoon.

The Monks held the lead in shots (15-13), shots on goal (8-4), and corner kicks (9-3) in the 2021 conference opener.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the victory earlier this season, Saint Joseph's improved to 3-0-0 in the history of the series with University of Saint Joseph. The Monks have outscored the Blue Jays by a combined 10-0 score in the three matchups.

POSTSEASON HISTORY:

The Monks have advanced to the GNAC Tournament every season since the College joined the conference in the fall of 2007. Saint Joseph's is 20-8 in GNAC postseason play with GNAC Championships in 2009, 2011, 2016, 2017, and 2018.

The Blue Jays are in the midst of their third GNAC Tournament run and, for the second-consecutive season, will appear in a conference semifinal. In 2019, USJ defeated Albertus Magnus, 1-0, in quarterfinal action to advance to the semifinal round, where the Blue Jays fell to eventual GNAC Champion Johnson & Wales by a 3-1 margin.

Colby-Sawyer will be appearing in the GNAC tourney for the third time in as many seasons as a member of the conference and enters the 2021 postseason with a 1-2 record in the GNAC playoffs. The fourth-seeded Chargers opened the 2018 tourney with a 2-0 win over #5 Albertus Magnus College and fell to #1 Saint Joseph's, 2-0, in the semifinal round.