BLUE KNIGHTS EDGE SAINTS, 2-1

Sept. 6:  The St. Lawrence University men’s soccer team suffered their second straight loss on Saturday as SUNY Geneseo was able to hold off the Saints to hand them a 2-1 loss in non-conference action in Geneseo, NY.
St. Lawrence falls to an even 2-2-0 mark, while the Blue Knights improve to the same record.

Junior forward Emmanuel Mbong (Norman, OK/Norman) was the lone scorer for the Saints, as the visiting team had eight shots on goal compared to Geneseo’s 13.  Both teams managed five shots on goal in the 90 minutes of play.
Geneseo's Joey Mort opened the scoring in the 13th minute after St. Lawrence received a handball call, giving the Knights a direct kick from 20 yards out directly in the middle of the field. Mort carved a left-footed shot around the left side of the defensive wall just inside the left post to slip it past Saints’ keeper senior co-captain Emilio Coletta (Montreal, QUE/Marianapolis College) to earn a 1-0 advantage.

The Saints were unable to get a shot off in the opening half until the final five minutes when first-years Ean Kelleher (Plattsburgh, NY/Plattsburgh) and Mike Manfredi (Unionville, CT/Farmington) both made attempts to get the ball between the posts before the horn, but neither was able to do so before the clock winded down.

The second half proved even tougher for St. Lawrence, as senior midfielder and co-captain Ryan Moore (Keene, NH/Keene) received a red card just inside the 64th minute, forcing the Saints to play a man down throughout the remainder of the contest.  The Blue Knights used the extra man to their advantage as junior Kurt Jameson poked in a rebound from two yards out after an initial save on a shot by senior Nick Prosser, giving Geneseo a 2-0 lead with a little more than 20 minutes to play.

Despite playing a man down, each of the ten players on the field continued to apply more pressure and force the ball in Geneseo’s defensive end of the field, as the Saints had five of their eight shots in the last 25 minutes.  Mbong’s goal, which came in the 85th minute, came off a shot from 12 yards out after a Geneseo clearing attempted was deflected, giving the Saint a chance to rocket the ball just inside the right post past Geneseo keeper Jeremy Reeves to make the score 2-1 with 5:16 left on the clock, but time quickly winded down as the home team celebrated their second victory of the season.

Reeves had four saves, while Coletta collected three in the game.

St. Lawrence will host their 2008 home opener next Friday, September 12 as they welcome RIT to Sandy MacAllaster Field.  The start time is scheduled for 4:00pm.

#14 YELLOWJACKETS SHUTOUT SAINTS, 3-0     

Sept. 5:  The St. Lawrence University men’s soccer team suffered their first loss of the season as the University of Rochester kept the Saints scoreless en route to a 3-0 victory in front of a packed Edwin Fauver Stadium on Friday night in Rochester, NY.

The Yellowjackets, who are currently ranked 14th in the NSCAA\adidas National Poll improve to a 2-0-1 mark, while the Scarlet and Brown fall to 2-1-0 overall.

Rochester attacked from the start of the contest with the help of nearly 1,520 fans, as Josh Biegel pushed a pass ahead to J.J. Dennstedt who beat a defender off the dribble.  Saints senior keeper and co-captain Emilio Coletta (Montreal, QUE/Marianapolis College) charged off his line to cut down the angle, but Dennstedt managed to curl it past him from the top of the box after only 3:05 had expired off the clock to give the Yellowjackets a 1-0 edge.
Dennstedt got his second goal of the match at 53:53 after Coletta parried the ball and Dennstedt collected it and moved wide of Coletta to the right, and rolled the ball into the open net for a 2-0 advantage.

But St. Lawrence proved resilient, as they continued to rocket shots at the net, hitting the post twice in a seven-minute span in the middle of the second half.  With 32 minutes left, a ball came to rookie forward Dan Marvin (Bow, NH/Holderness School) where he got into the penalty area and chipped it for the far left post over Yellowjacket keeper Mike Peacock. It struck the left upright crossbar and the Yellowjacket defense cleared it for a corner.
With 26 minutes remaining, senior midfielder and co-captain Paul LaMarca (Mesa, AZ/Red Mountain) left-footed a ball from 35 yards out on left wing and hit the right post, bouncing just wide to keep the home team up 2-0.

Yellowjacket Clif White added an unassisted goal in the 76th minute after Coletta blocked a shot moments before to give Rochester their final tally of the contest and to increase their lead to 3-0.

Coletta had three saves, while Peacock made five to earn his third straight shutout this season.

 
The Saints will play at SUNY Geneseo tomorrow afternoon, with the game scheduled to begin at 3:00pm.