JWU HANDS SAINTS FIRST GNAC LOSS, 1-0
BOSTON, Mass. – Emmanuel College dropped a hard-fought 1-0 decision to Johnson & Wales University in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men’s soccer action played on Saturday afternoon at Roberto Clemente Field. With the win, JWU remains unbeaten at 6-0-1 on the season and 1-0-1 in league play. Emmanuel falls to 2-6 overall and even at 1-1 in the GNAC
BOSTON, Mass. – Emmanuel College dropped a hard-fought 1-0 decision to Johnson & Wales University in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's soccer action played on Saturday afternoon at Roberto Clemente Field. With the win, JWU remains unbeaten at 6-0-1 on the season and 1-0-1 in league play. Emmanuel falls to 2-6 overall and even at 1-1 in the GNAC
In the last meeting between these two teams, the Wildcats topped the Saints, 3-1, during the 2012 regular season campaign. After Saturday's one-goal battle, the twelve year history between these two teams now stands at 11-1 in favor of JWU. With the shutout win, the Wildcats have held their opponents scoreless for over 326 consecutive minutes.
The game's lone goal came in just the 26th minute of play. After a scramble in front of the Saints' net, junior midfielder Kyle Metz (St. James, N.Y.) drilled his shot into the upper right netting and JWU took a 1-0 lead. The remainder of the game was played scorelessly with the visitors owning a 6-5 advantage in total shots during the opening half. Metz had another great scoring opportunity five minutes into the second frame, when he split two Emmanuel defenders in the box, but his shot went just wide left.
Midway through the second stanza, the Saints got a great look from freshman Jordan Maurer (Florence, Mass.) on a breakaway, but Maurer's shot was just off target. Sophomore David Field (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) placed two long direct kicks on the JWU goal, but they were both stifled by Wildcats' junior keeper Ryan Dzierawski (Oakland, Mich.).
EC would not go down quietly, as the Saints got a near goal from Stefano Sainato (Albany, N.Y.) with less than twenty minutes to play. Dzierawski scooped up Emmanuel captain Ryan Brady's (Springfield, Vt.) header with six and a half minutes to go to preserve his shutout win.
Emmanuel keeper Garrett Charette (West Springfield, Mass.), who leads the GNAC in total saves, made a total of 7 stops in the effort for the Saints. Dzierawski tallied 9 saves in the win for Johnson & Wales, improving to a perfect 6-0-0 on the season.
The Saints got off 15 shots to just 12 by the Wildcats. JWU owned a 6-1 advantage in corner kick opportunities.
Emmanuel will return to Clemente Field on Tuesday night, when the Saints host Newbury College in a non-conference tilt slated to begin at 7:00 PM. JWU plays at Eastern Nazarene College on Monday night at 7:00 PM.