September 9, 2010

WORCESTER, MA – Saint Joseph's (2-1) took advantage of an own-goal to slip past Worcester State (1-3), 1-0, on Thursday evening. Monks' keeper Nick Campasano '12 (Goffstown, NH) made five stops in net to record his second shutout of the young season.

The own-goal occurred in the 20th minute and the Monks held on to earn their second victory over a MASCAC team this fall. Paul Robins '11 (Cornwall, England), in front of the SJC bench, sent a pass to the middle of the box in front of Lancers keeper Evan Wiga '12 (Dudley, MA), but the ball was deflected by DJ Gustafson '12 (Webster, MA) into the wide-open goal.

With the Monks on top 1-0, both teams had their chances over the next seventy minutes of play to either knot the game or score the insurance goal.

St. Joe's held an 11-3 edge in shots in the opening frame, with the visitors' best opportunity coming in the 36th minute, when Joe Murphy '14 (Poland, ME) was denied by a diving Wiga, who made eight saves in the losing effort.  

The second stanza was more evenly-matched, as the Monks held a narrow 8-6 advantage in shots during the latter half.  With a strong offensive push near the end of the match, the Lancers had two excellent opportunities in the final five minutes of the contest.

Eric Figueiredo '11 (Shrewsbury, MA) steered a header toward the SJC net that was turned away by Campasano in the 87th minute and Eduardo Cazares '13 (Shrewsbury, MA) made a great cross in front of the net, but his attempt was knocked away by an SJC defender.

Saint Joseph's held an advantage in shots (18-9), shots on target (11-5) and corner kicks (4-1) in the triumph.

In a rematch of the 2009 GNAC Championship contest, the Monks will host Emerson College on Saturday at 11:30 AM. The Lancers will host Southern Maine on Saturday at 2:30 PM.

THANKS IN PART TO WORCESTER STATE SPORTS INFORMATION