Men's Soccer Blanks UMass Dartmouth Wednesday, 3-0

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's soccer team blanked the visiting UMass Dartmouth (UMD) Corsairs, 3-0, in a non-conference match on a picture-perfect Wednesday afternoon at the USJ Soccer Field in West Hartford. The Blue Jays found the back of the twice in the opening half before tacking on an insurance goal in the final period to account for the victory.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: USJ 3, UMass Dartmouth 0
Records: USJ (3-1-0), UMD (0-2-2)
Location: USJ Soccer Field (West Hartford, Conn.)

KEY MOMENTS

• The Blue Jays struck first in the 24th minute off a nice combination play by the midfield to then find graduate senior forward DeAnte Anderson (Bloomfield, Conn.) for the game's first goal. Junior midfielder Juan Torres (Hartford, Conn.) bounced a pass over to senior midfielder Michael Torres (Hartford, Conn.) who arced a pass over the Corsairs' back line to Anderson. Anderson trapped it with his chest and fired on his next touch past the diving UMD keeper and snuck it inside the post to score what would be the game-winning goal.
• USJ wasted no time extending its lead to 2-0 after junior forward Dane Stephens (Jamaica) found the back of the net just 54 seconds later. Stephens used some tricky dribbling to create space and sneak past a UMD defender before taking a touch and curling a beautiful shot into the top-left corner of the goal from 30-yards out.
• The Blue Jays tacked on an insurance goal in the second half in the 70th minute to seal the victory. Following a Corsairs' turnover, sophomore defender Jin Chen (China) launched a long ball forward from just past midfield to find streaking senior forward Benjamin Marchetti (Higganum, Conn.) behind the UMD defensive line and in a one-on-one opportunity with the keeper. After one touch, Marchetti fired on frame and UMD's junior goalkeeper Jack Waterhouse (Lowell, Mass.) got a piece of the shot, but not enough to stop the strike from barreling into the back of the netting.

QUOTABLE

"We are very pleased with today's result and performance. We are progressing both in front of goal and defensively. There were long periods in the second half where we had to dig in and defend well and I felt we had the mental fortitude to overcome those moments today," said head coach Paul Wright.

NOTES

• USJ has now posted three clean sheets through its first four matches to start the season and own a 14-4 goal differential.
• Anderson's goal was his fourth of the season for the Blue Jays, including his second game-winning goal. He now has a program-record 48 goals for his career.
• Marchetti's goal marked his team-leading fifth marker of the 2022 campaign for the Blue Jays.
• The assist from Chen on USJ's third goal marked his first career point in a USJ uniform.
• Overall, the Corsairs outshot the Blue Jays, 17-14, but the Blue Jays held an advantage in shots on goal, 5-3.
• USJ's junior goalkeeper Jose Miguel Garcia Martin (Spain) made a pair of saves to earn the shutout victory between the pipes. He is now 1-1-0 on the season.
• The Corsairs held a slight advantage in corner kicks, 10-7.
• It marked the second meeting all-time between the two programs with the Blue Jays now owning a 1-0-1 record in the series.

UP NEXT

Men's soccer returns back to the pitch on Saturday, September 17 for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match at home versus Colby-Sawyer College. Kickoff between the Blue Jays and Chargers is slated for 6:00 p.m. on the USJ Soccer Field in West Hartford, Conn.