O’DONNELL & DeSAULNIER POWER MEN’S SOCCER PAST EMERSON, 4-0

BOSTON, Mass. – Senior forward Colin O'Donnell (Killingworth, Conn.) and sophomore forward Alex DeSaulnier (Wilbraham, Mass.) scored two goals each to power the Emmanuel College men's soccer team past Emerson College, 4-0, Saturday afternoon at Roberto Clemente Field. The win marks the first of the 2016 campaign for the Saints who move to 1-1 overall while the Lions open the new slate with an 0-1 mark.

O'Donnell got the scoring started with his second goal of the season just 10:37 into the action to give Emmanuel a 1-0 lead. Senior defender Jeff Allen (South Windsor, Conn.) sent a through ball to the right side of the pitch that deflected off a Lion defender right to the feet of O'Donnell. The senior buried a composed right-footed strike to the far post to give the hosts the lead for good.

Less than a minute later, DeSaulnier got into the scoring mix with his first marker of the year to make it 2-0 at 11:21. O'Donnell set up his teammate by carrying the ball deep into Lions' territory on the left side of the pitch. Fresh off his goal, Emerson tried to double-team him leaving DeSaulnier open at the top of the 18-box. O'Donnell delivered a perfect drop pass to set up DeSaulnier for a one-time finish to the upper right-side of the goal for another quick score.

The Saints continued to press and made it 3-0 with O'Donnell's second goal of the afternoon at 32:47 into the stanza. Junior midfielder Cameron Messier (Belchertown, Mass.) chipped a ball from 25 yards off through the Lions back line to give O'Donnell a short field to work with. The senior made a quick move goal-side before depositing his third goal of the year just inside the near post.

DeSaulnier rounded out the game's scoring with 2:23 to play in the first half for his second goal of the action to make it 4-0. Freshman midfielder Anthony Tzortzis (Topsfield, Mass.) threaded a pass to DeSaulnier on the right side to set up Emmanuel's fourth score of the half.

Despite owning a 4-0 lead at the break, the Lions outshot the Saints 7-5 in the opening stanza while also holding a 2-0 advantage on corner kicks.

The second half provided a 45 minute stalemate in which Emerson continued to own the overall shot advantage, outshooting Emmanuel 10-3 in the frame for a 17-8 overall advantage on the afternoon. Senior midfielder Samir Beria (Sterling, Va.), junior defender Marco Correia (Tarrafal, Cape Verde) and senior forward Duncan Bochicchio (Los Angeles, Calif.) all paced the Lions with three shot attempts.

Emmanuel freshman keeper Jonathan Ferrarini (Hanover, Mass.) earned his first collegiate win making six saves over 78 minutes of action before being relieved by senior Joe Russo (Malden, Mass.) who preserved the shutout win with 12 minutes scoreless action in net. For the Lions, junior keeper Lucas Fischer (Atlanta, Ga.) made two saves between the pipes to fall to 0-1 on the year.

The four goals for the Saints matches the highest total in a game since a 4-1 win vs. Suffolk University on Oct. 23, 2013 and the first time since Sept 22, 2011 that Emmanuel scored four goals in the same half.

The win was also the first collegiate coaching victory for Emmanuel College first-year head coach, Dan Roberts.

The Saints return to action on Thursday, Sept. 8 when they host Wheelock College at 7:00 PM while the Lions are back tomorrow afternoon for a 1:00 PM road tilt against Curry College.