Men's Soccer Battles to Scoreless Draw at Emmanuel Wednesday

BOSTON – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's soccer team battled to a scoreless draw on the road at Emmanuel College (Emmanuel) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match on Wednesday evening at Roberto Clemente Field in Boston. Jose Miguel Garcia Martin (Madrid, Spain) would tally a season-high seven saves to record his third shutout of the season. 

GAME INFORMATION 
Score: USJ 0, Emmanuel 0 
Records: USJ (8-2-2, 5-1-2 GNAC), Emmanuel (4-4-5, 2-3-3 GNAC) 
Location: Roberto Clemente Field (Boston, Mass.) 

KEY MOMENTS 

• The Blue Jays wasted little time trying to find the opening goal, generating two scoring chances in the opening five minutes. Benjamin Marchetti (Higganum, Conn.) tried his luck at the 1:11 mark, but his effort missed just wide of the net. Anthony Delacruz (East Hartford, Conn.) would then fire his shot on frame, forcing Emmanuel's Vincent Conelli (West Hartford, Conn.) into making a fine save in the fifth minute. 

• The Saint's Alec Erskine (Coventry, Conn.) fired of Emmanuel's first strike in the sixth minute, but USJ's Jose Miguel Garcia Martin (Madrid, Spain) would come up equal to the shot, making the easy save and keeping the game scoreless. 

• The match would slow down after the early offense salvos, turning into a battle of the midfield. 

• Marchetti would find some space in the 14th minute, rifling a shot towards the net, but his effort fell wide of the net. 

• Emmanuel would force another fine save from Garcia Martin in the 24th minute. From a corner kick, the Saints set piece play worked to perfection as Cole Berry (Carver, Mass.) got on the end of the cross, but his header was expertly stopped by Garcia Martin. 

• Dane Stephens (Jamaica) would come close to opening the scoring, firing off a pair of strikes in a span of two minutes. In the 27th minute, Stephens would try his luck, but Conelli turned away his effort. One minute later, Stephens would again find space, firing off a shot on net, but again was denied by the Saints' goalkeeper. 

• Neither team would be able to generate a clear-cut opportunity late into the half, as both defenses kept the opposing offenses out. After the opening 45 minutes, USJ and Emmanuel would be deadlocked at 0-0. 

• Garcia Martin would be called into action early in the second half. In the 46th minute, Emmanuel worked the ball into the box, but Garcia Martin would hold onto a hard hit shot right out him from close range, keeping the game scoreless. 

• Garcia Martin would once again come up clutch for USJ, denying a diving header from Joey Soucy (Attleboro, Mass.) in the 53rd minute. 

• The Blue Jays would generate their first scoring opportunity moments later in the 55th minute. Delacruz would get on the end of a loose ball following a USJ free kick into the box, but his low-driven effort was well saved by the Emmanuel goalkeeper. 

• Emmanuel would come close to taking the lead, but the USJ defense made an outstanding stop. The Saints looked to fire the ball into the back of the net, but USJ would produce a crucial goal-line clearance, keeping the game scoreless. 

• In the 80th minute, Michael Torres stormed down the middle of the pitch, finding room at the top of the box. In space, Torress launched a shot on goal, but his effort was well saved by the Saints' goalkeeper. 

• The Saints tried to find a late game-winner, as Adom Oshagon (Glendale, Calif.) had his long-range strike in the 86th minute headed towards the bottom left corner perfectly saved by Garcia Martin. Off the ensuing corner, Garcia Martin made another great stop, denying a shot towards goal and keeping the match scoreless late. 

• Neither team could generate a chance in the closing moments of the match, as the Blue Jays held on for a scoreless draw on the road. 

QUOTABLE 

"We showed excellent fighting spirit tonight," said head coach Paul Wright. "A very close game with a few good opportunities for both teams. Unfortunately for us, we lacked the final quality in front of goal after some excellent build up, but we are happy with the point." 

NOTES 

• Garcia Martin tallied a season-high seven saves to record his third shutout of the season, and his second in a row. 

• With the result, Garcia Martin moves to 5-2-1 on the season. 

• Delacruz paced the USJ offense with two shots on goal. 

• The Blue Jays held an 11-9 edge in shots. 

• The Saints had the advantage in corner kicks against the Blue Jays, 7-4. 

• USJ maintained its advantage in the all-time series with the draw, moving to 2-0-2 against Emmanuel. 

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