WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Fifth-seeded Saint Joseph's College (7-2-8) advanced past fourth-seeded University of Saint Joseph (7-3-6), the two-time defending conference champion, with a 5-4 penalty-kick shootout victory following a 2-2 draw in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Soccer Tournament quarterfinal Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore Mattheus Silva (Acton, Mass.) converted the deciding attempt as the Monks went a perfect 5-for-5 in the shootout to secure a spot in Wednesday's GNAC semifinals.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the shootout victory, Saint Joseph's advances to face top-seeded Emmanuel College in a GNAC semifinal Wednesday at 7:00 PM in Boston. The Saints earned their spot with a 1-0 victory over eighth-seeded Regis College earlier today.
The setback ends the Blue Jays' bid for a third consecutive GNAC Championship.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Saint Joseph's struck first at 12:36, when senior Zander Haskell (Scarborough, Maine) netted his fourth goal of the season off assists from sophomore Zach Britton (Scarborough, Maine) and senior Diego Robinson (Hinesburg, Vt.).
The Blue Jays answered with an unassisted Nico Hamzavi goal at 26:22. The Monks appeared to reclaim a 2-1 lead with 8:16 remaining in the first half when the ball crossed the goal line, but the goal was waved off. Despite an 11-4 advantage in shots and a 7-1 edge in corner kicks, Saint Joseph's entered halftime tied, 1-1.
Robinson restored the Monks' lead with an unassisted tally at 80:02, his second goal of the season. Senior goalkeeper Alex Bachmann (Scarborough, Maine) made two saves during the ensuing Blue Jays push, while a Mario Milardo shot struck the crossbar.
USJ pulled even with just 1:29 remaining in regulation, as Chris Adadjo finished a pass from Hamzavi to force overtime. Neither team put a shot on goal during the two 10-minute extra periods, sending the quarterfinal to penalty kicks.
THE SHOOTOUT:
After both teams converted their opening attempts, Bachmann saved Elis Sulollari's second-round bid and Britton followed with a successful kick to give the Monks a 2-1 advantage.
Junior Godin Ndayishimiye (Bujumbura, Burundi) and senior Cole Bishop (Gorham, Maine) converted the Monks' next two attempts. USJ stayed alive with three consecutive makes, but Silva buried Saint Joseph's fifth kick to clinch the shootout, 5-4. Freshman Damir Brkic (South Portland, Maine) opened the Monks' perfect run.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's held the advantage in shots (17-14) and corner kicks (9-1), while USJ maintained a 6-5 edge in shots on goal.
THE KEEPERS:
Bachmann made four saves over 110 minutes for the Monks, while USJ goalkeeper Andres Diosa recorded three stops. Shootout attempts do not count toward individual goalkeeper statistics.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the contest officially recorded as a tie, Saint Joseph's is now 5-4-3 all-time against USJ. Both meetings this season ended in 2-2 draws, including the regular-season matchup on September 19.
