WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - #25 Saint Joseph's College (4-0, 1-0 GNAC) kicked off Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play with a 5-0 victory over University of Saint Joseph (CT) (2-1, 0-1 GNAC) on Saturday afternoon.

THE LEAD

Senior Brett Mattos (Mahopac, N.Y.) opened the game scoring at the 8:31 mark when he found the back of the net off a corner kick and became the first SJC men's soccer player to score 100 career points with the tally. The four-year standout proceeded to net his second strike of the afternoon 17 minutes later to lift the visitors to a 2-0 lead.

The two-score cushion remained until junior Ryan Buonaiuto (Scituate, R.I.) potted his third goal of the season just 55 seconds into the second frame and the Monks benefited from a USJ own goal in the 82nd minute to collect a 4-0 advantage. Freshman Jason Umbehr (Wallingford, Conn.) scored his first NCAA goal in the 89th minute, off an Austin Ward (North Andover, Mass.) feed, to account for the 5-0 final.

THE KEEPERS

Senior Blake Mullen (Manchester, Conn.) and sophomore David Walbridge (Hampden, Mass.) went untested in the shutout victory while USJ freshman goalie Anes Gadun (Clinton, Conn.) made four stops in a losing effort.

TEAM STATS

Saint Joseph's held sizeable advantages in shots (25-2), shots on goal (9-0), and corner kicks (8-2) on the afternoon.

NOTEWORTHY

• Junior Cody Elliott (Gorham, Maine) was credited with a pair of assists
• With the win, Head Coach Adrian Dubois is now tied atop the Monks' coaching victories list with his predecessor, Steve Babineau, who posted a 54-40-6 record in five seasons at SJC; Dubois is now 54-24-9 in just over four years with the Monks
• Mattos has now scored two or more goals in a game 13 times in his college career

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

Today's contest marked the first-ever meeting between the Monks and Blue Jays in men's soccer action, as University of Saint Joseph transitioned to a full coeducational institution this fall.

The 5-0 victory over USJ extended the Monks' GNAC regular season undefeated streak to 21 games. The team's last conference loss was a 2-0 setback at the hands of Lasell College on October 21st, 2015.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's returns to action tomorrow with a 2:00 PM non-conference game at Bowdoin College.

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