GORMAN NAMED CONFERENCE’S CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Sept. 15: St. Lawrence University first-year forward Brendan Gorman was named the Liberty League’s Co-Rookie of the Week on Monday after a spectacular weekend for the Saints men’s soccer team.

Gorman (Ottawa, ONT/St. Mathew) tallied two goals, including a game winner, and an assist for a team high five points as the Saints went 2-0 with wins over RIT and Elmira.  His game winning goal came against Elmira on Saturday, as he netted the first two goals of the contest on their way to a 3-0 shutout over the Soaring Eagles.  He also added an assist in Friday’s 3-0 victory over RIT.

The Saints will travel to Plattsburgh, NY on Friday to face the Cardinals, who have been a consistent name on the NSCAA/adidas National Poll in the opening weeks of the 2008 season.  The game is set to begin at 4:00pm at SUNY Plattsburgh.

GORMAN LEADS SAINTS TO 3-0

VICTORY OVER ELMIRA

Sept. 13:  Rookie forward Brendan Gorman had another tremendous performance for the St. Lawrence University men’s soccer team as he tallied two of the Saints’ three goals in their 3-0 shutout over Elmira College in non-conference action on Sandy MacAllaster Field on Saturday.

The Scarlet and Brown are now 4-2-0 overall, while Elmira falls to 2-3-0 in their 2008 season.

Gorman (Ottawa, ONT/St. Mathew) scored the game-winner as well as the insurance goal for St. Lawrence, while junior forward Emmanuel Mbong (Norman, OK/Norman) tallied his third goal of the season in Saturday’s contest.  Senior midfielder and co-captain Ryan Moore (Keene, NH/Keene) added an assist on the game-winning goal, and first year midfielder Dan Casserly (Latham, NY/LaSalle Institute) earned his first collegiate point as he also had an assist.

St. Lawrence poured on the pressure early in the contest, while two of Elmira’s starters were temporarily injured and removed from the game.  An Elmira defender fouled Mbong just outside the left side of the 18 in the 17th minute, opening up a free kick opportunity for the home squad.  Moore crossed the dead ball to Gorman, who forced Soaring Eagle keeper Jon DePrimo out of the net and passed a low ball behind him to score the first goal and eventual game winner for the Scarlet and Brown, giving them a 1-0 edge.

The second half turned into a much more physical game as five Soaring Eagles’ players were given yellow cards throughout the 45 minute period and each team was credited with six fouls.  Gorman scored his second goal of the contest in the 55th minute, where he found himself in front of the cage after a St. Lawrence free kick.  The ball bounced in the middle of traffic in front of the posts and fell on the foot of an Elmira defender before finding Gorman, who snuck the ball between DePrimo’s legs to earn the Saints a 2-0 lead.

With a little more than 15 minutes remaining, Mbong came back into the contest from the bench and was an immediate impact, as he watched Casserly drive the end line before feeding the ball to the middle, where Mbong streaked towards goal and one touched it to the near side corner for the Scarlet and Brown’s third and final goal of the game.

St. Lawrence held a 25-9 shot advantage over Elmira and was able to keep the visiting team from making a shot for nearly 20 minutes in the middle of the second half.  DePrimo had 12 saves for the Soaring Eagles, while Saints’ keeper Emilio Coletta (Montreal, QUE/Marianapolis College) faced only three shots on goal.  Between Coletta and the efforts of St. Lawrence’s defenders, the Saints earned their fourth shutout of the season.

St. Lawrence will hit the road and head to Plattsburgh next Friday as they face the Cardinals in non-conference action.  Currently, Plattsburgh State is ranked 22nd in the weekly NSCAA/adidas National Coaches Poll and third in the Northeast region, while the Saints hope their performance this weekend will improve their current eighth place position in the region.  The game is scheduled to begin at 4:00pm.

SAINTS BLANK RIT IN HOME OPENER, 3-0

Sept. 12: The rain ceased in the North Country for nearly two hours Friday afternoon, giving the St. Lawrence University men’s soccer team just enough time to shutout non-conference opponent Rochester Institute of Technology 3-0 in the Saints’ 2008 home opener on Sandy MacAllaster Field.

The Saints improve to 3-2-0 overall with the win, while the Tigers fall to 1-3-0 in the season, with each of their three losses coming against Liberty League opponents.

Tallying points for the Scarlet and Brown included junior forward Emmanuel Mbong (Norman, OK/Norman), who had a game-high three points as he scored the second goal and added the assist on the third.  Sophomore back James Stewart scored his second game-winning goal of the season, while rookie forward Dan Marvin (Bow, NH/Holderness) made his second goal of the season.  Senior midfielder and co-captain Paul LaMarca (Mesa, AZ/Red Mountain) and first year forward Brendan Gorman (Ottawa, ONT/St. Mathew) each added an assist in the contest.

St. Lawrence controlled the tempo of the game early on, only allowing RIT two shots on goal throughout the entire half, while the home team generated ten shots of their own.  The Saints’ first goal of the contest came in the middle of the second half in the 28th minute after the ball crept out of bounds, forcing a St. Lawrence corner kick.  LaMarca sent the ball sailing over the six and most of the players where it found the head of Stewart, who propelled the ball into the far net past Tigers’ keeper Alan Smith, giving the Saints a 1-0 advantage.

While that goal would go down in the books as the game-winner, both teams had a lot left in them, but the edge gave the Saints a momentum that was hard to beat as they continued to spray Smith with shots.  Just inside the opening of the second half, the Saints found their way to the back of the net again as Gorman took a shot on Smith, who made the save but was unable to keep the ball in his possession as a speedy Mbong came up the center to direct the ball through the posts, giving St. Lawrence a 2-0 lead with a little under 40 minutes to play.

Marvin’s goal came at the end of the 62nd minute, where Mbong threaded the ball to the rookie, who beat his defender inside the 18 and was able to find the back of the net for the final goal of the contest.

 
St. Lawrence held a 24-7 shot advantage over the Tigers, many of those coming of their 13 corner kick opportunities.  Smith played a strong game in the net for RIT, as he tallied nine total saves in the contest.  While Coletta had only three saves, he was impressive defensively as he and his defenders were able to clear the ball successfully several times to preserve their third shutout of the season.

St. Lawrence will host Elmira College on Saturday, September 13th, with the game scheduled to begin at 2:00pm on Sandy MacAllaster Field.