GORMAN NAMED CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Sept. 29: First year student Brendan Gorman was recognized by the Liberty League for the second time this season on Monday as the forward was integral in the St. Lawrence University men’s soccer team’s first conference win of the season over the weekend.

Gorman (Ottawa, ONT/St. Mathew) tallied three points as he added a goal and an assist in the Saints' 3-1 victory against Hamilton College on Friday. It is the third consecutive weekend the rookie has scored at least one goal for the Scarlet and Brown as he currently has 12 points this season (4 goals, 4 assists), the second highest on the squad. 

St. Lawrence will travel to neighboring North Country rival Clarkson on Saturday afternoon.  The game is scheduled to begin at 1:00pm in Potsdam, NY.

SAINTS FALL TO No. 6 HOBART, 2-1

Sept. 27: After tying in the regular season and then losing to St. Lawrence in the 2007 Liberty League semifinals, the No. 6 Hobart Statesmen proved at least part of 2008 would play out a bit differently as they defeated the St. Lawrence University men’s soccer team 2-1 in conference action on Saturday afternoon in Geneva, NY.

The Saints fall to 6-4-0 overall and endure their first Liberty League loss of the season as they currently stand at a 1-1-0 mark in the conference, while the nationally ranked Statesmen keep their unbeaten record intact as they improve to 9-0-0 and a 2-0-0 Liberty League record.

The home team found their way to the net first at the beginning of the 20th minute, as the ball went out of bounds and Hobart’s Matt Geswell threw it back into play.  Teammate Philipp Schoeniger touched it, sending the ball to the head of Dan Riso, who drove it in between the posts past St. Lawrence keeper and co-captain Emilio Coletta (Montreal, QUE/Marianapolis College) for the Statesmen’s first goal of the game.

At the 31:49 mark, Hobart’s Tyler Webster tallied what would eventually be the game winner, his third of the season. Teammate Clancy Purcell threaded the ball to Webster, who was pressing up against at St. Lawrence offsides trap, setting him up for a breakaway that resulted in the Statesmen’s 2-0 lead.

St. Lawrence quickly gained possession after the goal and stormed into Hobart’s defensive end, where the Statesmen were fouled, giving the Saints a free kick.  The restart sailed just in front of the goal, where the players scrambled for possession but St. Lawrence senior forward Kiel Dwyer (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate H.S.) got his foot to it first, where he blasted it past Hobart keeper Pete Van Dellon to cut the home team’s lead in half, the score read 2-1 in favor of the Statesmen.

Hobart never relinquished their lead, as the evenly-matched teams played even in the second half of the game, with Hobart holding a slight edge in shots (8-7) but both teams tallying three shots on goal.  St. Lawrence put a lot of pressure on the home squad in the final minutes, but were unable to capitalize on a few opportunities that would have forced overtime.  St. Lawrence held a 4-3 edge in corner kick opportunities, two of those coming in the second half.

Van Dellon had six saves for Hobart, while Coletta tallied three for the Saints.

St. Lawrence will return to action next weekend, as they travel down the road to North Country rival Clarkson University in another Liberty League match.  The game is scheduled to begin at 2:00pm on Saturday, October 4th in Potsdam, NY.

SAINTS AVENGE 2007 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP LOSS; DEFEAT HAMILTON, 3-1

Sept. 26: In a rematch of the 2007 Liberty League Tournament Championship, the St. Lawrence University men’s soccer team got even with rival Hamilton College as the Saints readily defeated the Continentals 3-1 in conference action on Love Field in Clinton, NY Friday afternoon.

The Saints improve to 6-3-0 overall and now stand at 1-0-0 in the conference and have won the last four out of their five games.  The Continentals fall to 4-2-0 and 0-1-0 in the Liberty League, losing their second straight game after opening the year with four consecutive victories.

Junior forward Emmanuel Mbong (Norman, OK/Norman) recorded his fifth goal of the season, while first year forward Brendan Gorman (Ottawa, ONT/St. Mathew) tallied his fourth goal.  Senior midfielder and co-captain Paul LaMarca (Mesa, AZ/Red Mountain) had the game winner, his third goal of the season.  Both Gorman and Mbong assisted each other’s goals.

Mbong currently leads St. Lawrence in goals (5), assists (5), and total points (15), while Gorman has four of each for 12 points, leading a solid first year class who accounts for 10 of the Saints’ 22 goals so far this season.

St. Lawrence, who was scoreless against the Continentals in 2007, came on to the field more than ready for a fight and didn’t give Hamilton much time to prepare as Mbong scored a goal after receiving the ball from Gorman only 24 seconds into the contest to give the visiting team a 1-0 edge.

Hamilton came back as Continental Jesse Arroyave tallied an unassisted goal, his third goal of the season, in the 14th minute to tie the game at one goal a piece.  It wouldn’t be until the end of the 68th minute, when LaMarca played a ball wide and made a 40 yard run up the field and cracked the ball to the far post to push St. Lawrence back on top with a 2-1 lead.

Mbong returned the early favor to Gorman in the middle of the 76th minute, as he slotted the ball to the rookie up front, who sent it past Hamilton keeper Anthony Carello to give the Saints the insurance goal and the 3-1 victory.
St. Lawrence outshot the Continentals 14-13 and held a 6-4 edge in shots on goal.  Saints’ keeper and co-captain Emilio Coletta (Ottawa, ONT/Marianapolis College) had three saves, while Carello had two.

“Our team played really well today,” said Head Coach Bob Durocher.  “We fell flat for a moment and Hamilton saw that opportunity and scored.  But we came back strong and never gave up control of the game.”

St. Lawrence will face another conference foe, Hobart College, on Saturday afternoon in Geneva, NY.  The Statesmen are currently ranked sixth in the country according to the most recent NSCAA/adidas National Coaches Poll, and are also ranked first in the Northeast region.  The game is scheduled to begin at 2:00pm.