Men's Soccer Plays USJ to 1-1 Draw on Senior Day
BOSTON, Mass. - The Emmanuel College men’s soccer team played to a 1-1 draw with University of Saint Joseph (CT) on Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action at Roberto Clemente Field.
THE BASICS
Score:
Emmanuel College, 1; Univ. of Saint Joseph, 1 (2OT)
Records:
Emmanuel College Saints (8-7-1, 5-4-1 GNAC)
Univ. of Saint Joseph Blue Jays (10-5-1, 6-3-1 GNAC)
Location:
Boston, Mass. – Roberto Clemente Field
Date:
Saturday, October 26, 2019
THE LEAD: The Emmanuel College men's soccer team played to a 1-1 draw with University of Saint Joseph (CT) on Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action at Roberto Clemente Field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- In a tale of two halves, USJ had the advantage in the opening stanza and netted the game's first goal in the 39th minute of play to take a 1-0 lead.
- First year midfielder Mergim Kutllovci (Thomaston, Conn.) buried a direct kick following an EC foul just outside the box to give the Blue Jays the one-goal lead heading into halftime. The goal was his ninth of the season.
- In the second half, Emmanuel became the aggressor and evened the match at 1-1 in the 55th minute when sophomore Alec Erskine (Coventry, Conn.) found the back of the net for his team-leading 11th goal of the season with the help of an assist from classmate Kyle King (Gorham, Maine.).
- Both squads had chances down the stretch to end the game in regulation but both keepers were up to the task to keep the score knotted at 1-1 after 90 minutes.
- EC attempted the only two shots in the first overtime period, but neither landed on frame.
- Sophomore Robert Danielian (Watertown, Mass.) had the final look of the game, landing a shot on frame with just under five minutes remaining in the second OT but the shot was denied and neither team attempt another shot to keep the result at 1-1.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- With his 11th goal of the year, Erskine ties Allan Parrelli '13 with the Emmanuel single-season goals record. Parrelli netted 11 goals back during the 2011 campaign.
- EC senior keeper Johnathan Ferrarini (Hanover, Mass.) made three saves in net for the Saints while John Griffin (Southington, Conn.) also stopped three shots on the day for USJ.
- Today was just the second meeting between the two programs and both contests have gone to overtime with the Blue Jays pulling out a 2-1 overtime win last year in the inaugural meeting.
SENIOR DAY!
- Prior to the start of the contest, the Emmanuel Men's Soccer program and Athletic Department honored the four senior members on the 2019 roster. Along with Ferrarini, fellow seniors Jack Barbour (Hollis, N.H.), William Burdick (Scarborough, Maine), and Nicholas Fierro (Katonah, N.Y.) were recognized for their contributions to the program over the last four seasons.
UP NEXT
- EC returns to action on Wednesday, October 30 for their regular-season GNAC finale, traveling to Colby-Sawyer College for a 3:00 PM tilt with playoff implications on the line.
- USJ plays host to interstate rival Albertus Magnus College that same day, kicking off against the Falcons at 3:00 PM in another important GNAC match-up that will impact playoff standings.