STEWART NAMED DEFENSIVE

PERFORMER OF THE WEEK

Sept. 1: After having an impressive first weekend in the back for the St. Lawrence men’s soccer team, sophomore back James Stewart was named Liberty League Defensive Player of the Week Monday as he was key to the Saints’ success over the weekend.

Stewart (St. Davids, ONT/Sir Winston Churchill) had the game winning goal in the Scarlet and Brown’s first victory of the season as he led the way to a 4-0 win over Johnson and Wales Friday at the 2008 North Country Lotto Classic. His goal came after only 1:23 had expired off the clock. Stewart also tallied an assist on the second goal to help insure the win, while also playing a big role in the back, as the Saints shut out both Johnson & Wales and Fredonia to earn the 2008 Classic title.

St. Lawrence returns to action on Friday, as they travel to Rochester, NY to face the Yellowjackets of the University of Rochester, with the game set to begin at 7:00pm.

MARVIN’S LATE GOAL CLINCHES

2008 LOTTO CLASSIC TITLE

Aug. 30: Rookie Dan Marvin was one of four Saints to be named to the 2008 Lotto Classic All-Tournament team after scoring the tournament-winning goal with only 45 seconds left in regulation to lift the St. Lawrence University men’s soccer team to a hard-fought 1-0 win over Fredonia State University on Saturday afternoon in Potsdam, NY.

The Saints improve to 2-0-0 overall while the Blue Devils split the weekend after defeating Clarkson in double overtime on Friday, leaving the tournament with a 1-1-0 mark.

The Saints and Blue Devils competed in a first half that appeared to be a war of attrition as neither team could muster much offense, with a few hard fouls and reversal of play.  St. Lawrence had only four shots in the opening period, while the Blue Devils were able to produce three shots, with only one on goal as the two teams attempted to solve the other’s defensive strategies.

Fredonia could blame their performance in the second half on their double overtime game against Clarkson on Friday, but there was no stopping the Saints’ offense, who outshot Fredonia 12-4 in the final 45 minutes of the contest, with nearly half of those shots being on goal. Marvin (Bow, NH/Holderness School) made a last second effort to get the win for St. Lawrence after taking a long pass from behind the center line and then carrying the ball up the side line. The first-year eluded a defender and the Fredonia keeper Tom Cavanaugh to score the game’s only goal with just 45.1 seconds remaining in regulation.

Saints’ keeper senior Emilio Coletta (Montreal, QUE/Marianapolis College) is also praiseworthy, as he had four saves in the contest to insure his second consecutive shutout of his senior campaign. Cavanaugh tallied six saves in the game.

St. Lawrence won the tournament with its two shutout victories and had four players on the All-Tournament team, including Marvin, senior midfielder and co-captain Ryan Moore (Keene, NH/Keene), first-year forward Brendan Gorman (Ottawa, ONT/St. Matthew) and junior forward Emmanuel Mbong (Norman, OK/Norman). Fredonia placed three players on the squad with Cavanaugh, Pete Dagel and Scott Chimileski.

Clarkson had three players for the all-star team in Brody Boomer, Mike St. Croix, and Scott Desmond, while the Wildcats had two in Jeremiah Schenzel and Joe Ferraro.

The Saints will return to action next Friday night in Rochester, NY, as they face non-conference opponent Rochester at 7:00pm.

SAINTS SHUTOUT JOHNSON AND WALES 4-0

IN SEASON OPENER

Aug. 29: After scoring three unanswered goals in the first eleven minutes of the contest, the St. Lawrence University men’s soccer team gained a momentum that was unstoppable throughout the remainder of the 90 minute contest as they secured a 4-0 victory over Johnson and Wales University in the first game of the 2008 North Country Lotto Classic on Friday afternoon, held at Clarkson University.

The Saints begin the season with a 1-0-0 mark, while the Wildcats, who earned a bid to the 2007 NCAA Tournament last season, fall to 0-1-0 to start their 2008 campaign.

Senior midfielder and co-captain Ryan Moore (Keene, NH/Keene) found himself at the center of the action in the first half as he served two corners that the Scarlet and Brown were able to cash in on while also tallying a goal himself in just the first ten and a half minutes of the game.  In addition to Moore’s goal, sophomore back James Stewart (St. Davids, ONT/Sir Winston Churchill), senior co-captain Paul LaMarca (Mesa, AZ/Red Mountain), and senior midfielder Marco Falcon-Viale (South Salem, NY/John Jay) each tallied a goal in the Saints’ efforts.  Junior forward Emmanuel Mbong (Norman, OK/Norman) tallied two assists, while LaMarca and junior Reed Carr (Williston, VT/Champlain Valley Union) added one each.

 
After only a minute of play, it was evident that St. Lawrence was eager to be first up on the scoreboard, as Moore played a quick corner to Mbong, who threaded the ball to Stewart who found the back of the net past Wildcats’ keeper Joe Ferraro to score the first goal on the 2008 season for St. Lawrence, as the score read 1-0 with just 1:23 expired from the clock.

The Saints’ offense continued to dominate as they got back into scoring position as Moore set up his third corner of the contest nearly two minutes later finding the head of Mbong, who flicked it on to LaMarca, who beat the keeper low from inside the box to push the Saints ahead 2-0 just 3:48 into the game.

Moore’s goal came in the eleventh minute after Carr passed the ball to him from the corner, while Moore shot the groundball into the net to give the Saints a 3-0 advantage.  Carr’s assist was the first point of his collegiate career.

The contest also marked Falcon-Viale’s first collegiate point and goal, as the senior got the ball from LaMarca and sent it towards Ferraro, who was unable to stop the ball as it went through his hands and trickled in between the posts.  Falcon-Viale’s goal gave St. Lawrence a decisive 4-0 lead less than 21 minutes in and ended the Saints’ scoring rampage that highlighted the first half.

The remaining minutes of the half, as well as the last period of the contest, were not without excitement, as the Saints took 10 shots in the final 45 minutes, with Ferraro coming up big for Johnson and Wales and making some key saves.  St. Lawrence had seven corner opportunities throughout the game, while the Wildcats had only one in the second half.  The Scarlet and Brown outshot Johnson and Wales 19-3 and only allowed one shot on goal.

Saints’ keeper senior co-captain Emilio Coletta (Montreal, QUE/Marianapolis College) had one save in his first shutout of the season, but was an integral part of maintaining a strong defense by communicating with his teammates in the back who were able to keep the ball from going in the penalty box.  Ferraro tallied five saves, all coming in the second half.

St. Lawrence will play Fredonia State University, who also competed in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, tomorrow afternoon at noon in their second and final game of the Lotto Classic.