MIDDLETOWN, CT - Saint Joseph's College fell to Wesleyan University (12-1-4), 2-0, in the opening round of the NCAA DIII Men's Soccer Tournament on Saturday afternoon. Monks' keeper Will Pike '10 (Gorham, ME) registered seven saves in the loss, which concludes the 2009 campaign for the Royal Blue.

In a rainy midday match, the Cardinals, ranked 4th in New England and 11th in the country according to the latest NSCAA Poll, outshot the Monks, 17-8, with a 9-4 lead in shots on goal and a 5-2 edge in corner kicks. With the win, Wesleyan advances to the second round and will play on Sunday at 1:00 PM against the Babson/Western New England victor on their home field. Babson and WNEC began play on the Wesleyan pitch at 1:30 PM today.

Wesleyan keeper Adam Purdy '13 (Montclair, NJ) made four saves in his 10th shutout effort of his freshman campaign. The Cardinals have allowed just seven goals all season and entered the match ranked fifth in the country in team goals-against average (0.41).

Wesleyan opened the scoring in the 32nd minute when midfielder Chris Kuehn '13 (Franklin Lakes, NJ) scored off an Ian Waldron '13 (Amherst, MA) right to left crossing pass. The After over 30 minutes of scoreless play, the Cardinals took advantage of some fresh legs, as both players entered the game as substitutions within nine minutes of the marker, which was Kuehn's first collegiate goal.

Wesleyan tallied eight shots in the first half against two for for the Monks, but four saves from Pike kept it a one-goal game. Pike had a key stop on a shot by Wesleyan junior Geoff Zartarian in the 21st minute as he dove to his right and deflected the ball away. Pike helped negate another Wesleyan scoring chance in the 28th minute, as he stopped a shot from close range off the right side by senior Mark Murphy. The rebound went to Waldron, who crossed it to freshman Noah Schlesinger, but his shot sailed high.

Wesleyan appeared to take a 2-0 lead early in the second half, as freshman Rory O'Neill scored off a cross from senior Jory Kahan, but the officials ruled O'Neill was offsides and disallowed the goal. Wesleyan had another scoring chance in the 58th minute, as junior Austin Woolridge took a cross from Yamashita and had a look at an open net, but his shot from the right side went right into Zartarian, who was establishing an offensive position, and deflected out of bounds.

St. Joe's had a pair of key opportunities of its own but was stopped by Purdy both times. In the 61st minute, Paul Robins '11 (Cornwall, England) sent a screaming kick low towards the left post, but Purdy dove to his right to make the stop. Robins sent another shot from the top of the box towards the left post in the 69th minute, but Purdy made a sliding stop to preserve Wesleyan's advantage.

After nearly 40 minutes of scoreless play, Nick Whipple '10 (Montclair, NJ) scored at the 71:01 mark to double the Cardinal lead. The goal came after an SJC turnover at midfield, as pair of crisp passes led to a quick score. Woody Redpath '10 (Norwich, VT) was credited with an assist on the play.

Wesleyan had a chance to extend its lead to 3-0 in the 79th minute, as a corner kick by Schlesinger nearly snuck in under the crossbar, but Pike leapt up and fisted the ball out of bounds.

Robins recorded three shots on goal in the losing effort. The Monks cap the 2009 campaign having set new team records in wins (14), winning percentage (.636), shutouts (11) and games played (23).

St. Joseph's (Me.) (14-8-1) vs. Wesleyan University (12-1-4)
Date: Nov 14, 2009  Attendance: 150
Weather: rainy, cool

Goals by period       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
St. Joseph's (Me.)..  0  0 -  0
Wesleyan University.  1  1 -  2

SCORING SUMMARY:
  1.  31:48 WESM09 Chris Kuehn (1) (Ian Waldron) - cross from right side, flicked in off end of foot inside left post
  2.  71:01 WESM09 Nick Whipple (3) (Woody Redpath) - shot from middle of box into right side of goal

Shots: St. Joseph's (Me.) 8, Wesleyan University 17
Saves: St. Joseph's (Me.) 7 (Will Pike 7), Wesleyan University 4 (Adam
Purdy 4)