STANDISH, Maine – Top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (20-0-0) clipped #2 Johnson & Wales University (12-6-3), 1-0, in the 2018 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Soccer Championship at the SJC Athletics Complex on Sunday afternoon.

With the triumph the Monks collect their third-consecutive conference title and have secured the GNAC's automatic qualifier into the NCAA DIII Men's Soccer Tournament, which starts on Saturday. The entire 2018 national tourney bracket will be announced Monday on www.ncaa.com via live video at 1:00 PM.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Monks had several scoring chances in the first half but did not hit pay dirt until the 46:38 mark, when junior Cody Elliott (Gorham, Maine) netted his sixth goal of the season. Johnson & Wales senior keeper Nicholas Mancini (Toms River, N.J.) left his post to intercept a crossing pass but mishandled the ball, allowing junior Noah Robinson (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) to tap a pass to Elliott, who steered a shot into an empty net.

THE KEEPERS

SJC senior Blake Mullen (Manchester, Conn.) did not face a shot in the victory while Mancini turned away four of the five shots on goal in the setback.

TEAM STATS

Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (12-4), shots on goal (5-0), and corner kicks (5-1) on the afternoon.

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

With the victory Saint Joseph's is now 11-7 all-time versus Johnson & Wales University and has now defeated the Wildcats in four-consecutive meetings.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

MVP – Cody Elliott, Saint Joseph's
Mitchell Duncan, Saint Joseph's
Jackson Taylor, Saint Joseph's
Dalton Gaumer, Saint Joseph's
Brett Mattos, Saint Joseph's
Nicholas Mancini, Johnson & Wales
Robert Hayman, Johnson & Wales
Riley McNicholas, Johnson & Wales
Lucas Boetsch, Colby-Sawyer
Noah Camelo, Colby-Sawyer
Alex Brannan, Norwich
Bryce Sullenger, Norwich

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