Men's Soccer Blanked by Saints on Senior Day

PAXTON, Mass.—The Anna Maria College men's soccer team was blanked by the Saints of Emmanuel College on the strength of two first-half goals for the 2-0 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) win on Monday afternoon.

With the loss, Anna Maria falls to 2-8-1 overall and 1-4 in GNAC play. The win boosts Emmanuel to 5-8 overall and 4-2 in league action.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both teams had ample opportunities to score in today's match but Emmanuel was able to find the back of the net twice in the first half to claim the victory. The Saints held a 22-18 edge in shots over the course of the game. Anna Maria also trailed in corner kicks, 8-4.

The AMCATS were unable to capitalize on opportunities—in the 35^th and 38^th minutes, junior Christopher Mattioli (Sturbridge, Mass.) had identical plays where he dribbled swiftly around his defender for an open look on net, but sailed both shots wide to the right. In the 69^th minute, a swing-and-miss by an Emmanuel defender gave Mattioli a close look on net, but again his shot sailed wide.

In the 71^st minute, senior Jamison Crowley (Southington, Conn.) used a header to beat his defender and then headed it again to score, but a late whistle ruled him off-sides and the goal was called back.

SCORING

First Half: Emmanuel took a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute of the game as Stafano Sainato found Jordan Maurer in front of the net. Maurer's shot was rerouted off of an AMCAT defender and was impossible to judge by AMCAT goalkeeper Elliot Kuzma (East Haven, Conn.).

After 35 minutes of scoreless action, the Saints tacked on another one as David Field won a challenge with an AMCAT defender and took a deep 25-yard shot from the left side that found its way to the right corner of the net for Field's fourth goal of the season.

GOALKEEPERS

James Withers made six saves en route to the shutout win for the Saints. With today's win, the Saints halt a four-game losing streak.

Kuzma  recorded the start for Anna Maria and made three first half saves before giving way to Patrick Thornberg (Wayland, Mass.) who tallied four saves in the second half and did not give up a goal.

SENIOR DAY

Prior to today's kickoff, the AMCATS recognized five seniors playing in their final home games—Crowley, Kuzma, Jeff Fletcher (Oxnard, Calif.), Jeffrey LaRochelle (Plainville, Mass.) and Gavyn Torres (Providence, R.I.).

WHAT'S NEXT

The AMCATS hit the road for the remainder of the 2015 regular season schedule. They travel to Saint Joseph's College of Maine on Thursday for a 7:45 p.m. league game.