Saint Josephs Outlasts Anna Maria, 3-1

STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's College (8-3-1, 4-0-0 GNAC) defeated Anna Maria College (3-6-1, 0-4-0 GNAC), 3-1, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's soccer match at Westerlea Way Field on Saturday afternoon. Senior midfielder Kyle Shangraw (Westbrook, Maine) recorded a goal and an assist in the victory to help the Monks remain undefeated in GNAC play.

Shangraw accounted for the early lead four minutes after the opening whistle.  Seconds earlier, senior midfielder Fabrice Iraduha (Portland, Maine) possessed the ball near the top of the box and was fouled.  The infraction set up the kick for Shangraw, who struck a kick through the wall and into the lower right corner to provide the hosts with an early advantage.

The 1-0 edge remained until the 44th minute when a defensive lapse by the Monks resulted in a goal by AMCATS junior Michael Quirk (Rockfall, CT).  

Controlling the ball near midfield on the right sideline, freshman forward Christopher Mattioli (Sturbridge, Mass.) quickly recognized an odd-man rush and delivered a long feed right to the feet of junior midfielder Michael Quirk (Rockfall, Conn.), who eluded a defender and booted the ball into the top left corner.

After a sloppy ending to the first frame, the Monks entered the second stanza with renewed vigor and looked to employ the halftime adjustments delivered by Head Coach Steve Babineau.

The SJC side capitalized on the effort just 3:22 into the second half when freshman Victor Santos (Framingham, Mass.) scored the first game-winner of his collegiate career. Possessing the ball and shedding a defender in the right corner, junior midfielder Jason Wade (South Hampton, N.H.) sent a well-placed ball to the left post, just beyond the outstretched hands of Anna Maria keeper Andrew Dahl (Marlton, N.J.), to find Santos, who drove a header into the empty net to make it a 2-1 game.

The AMCATS squandered an excellent scoring opportunity in the 65th minute when senior Justin Hyland (Leicester, Mass.) took a free kick from just outside the 18 but his shot smacked Iraduha, who stood as part of the wall, and was quickly cleared without harm.

The Monks tacked on an insurance goal in the 68th minute when senior forward Zach Johnson (Westbrook, Maine) tallied his second goal of the season. At midfield, Shangraw set up the play with a lead pass to Johnson, who was streaking towards the right post and finished the drive with a chip shot to the right corner of the net. Dahl, who deftly left his post to thwart an SJC scoring opportunity on several occasions throughout the contest, saw a defensive mismatch and scampered out of the goalmouth to challenge Johnson, but was unsuccessful in his attempt.

Overall, Saint Joseph's held an 18-12 advantage in shots, including a 10-4 lead in attempts on target, and an 11-0 cushion in corner kicks on the afternoon. Dahl recorded seven saves in net for the visitors while Saint Joseph's sophomore keeper Scott Benner (Post Falls, Idaho) made three saves in goal for the hosts.

Anna Maria is off until next Saturday when the AMCATS play at Rivier University in a GNAC match slated to kick off at 7:00 PM.  Saint Joseph's resumes play with a non-conference contest at Endicott College starting at 6:00 PM on Wednesday.