Men's Soccer Wins Fifth Straight, Defeats Lasell on the Road Wednesday

NEWTON, Mass. - The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's soccer team maintained its unbeaten start to the 2023 campaign on the road at Lasell University (Lasell), defeating the Lasers 4-1 during a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match Saturday afternoon on Taylor Field in Newton, Mass. With the result, the Blue Jays move to 7-0-1 overall and 5-0-1 in conference play while the Lasers drop to 2-4-2 overall and 2-3-2 in the GNAC.

KEY MOMENTS 

• USJ nearly opened the scoring in the 7^th minute as freshman midfielder Matthew Dima (Oxford, Conn.) whipped in a cross onto the feet of senior forward Dane Stephens (Linstead, Jamaica), but Stephens snapshot missed just right of the post.
• The Blue Jays continued to pile on the pressure, firing off shots, but Dima, sophomore forward Emmanuel Ofori (East Hartford, Conn.) and graduate student defender Eliz Rodriguez (Southington, Conn.) all saw their efforts be blocked by the Lasell defense.
• The Lasers nearly found the opener themselves in the 36:00 minute, but Liam Thomspon's effort was well blocked, before Dillon Winkelman sent his follow up over the bar.
• USJ found the game's first goal moments later, as Ofori received a low cross, who turned and saw the Lasers goalkeeper Antonio Centracchio get a hand on his shot, but it was not enough as the powerful effort trickled its way into the net, giving USJ the 1-0 lead.
• Senior Henry McGarrah V (Hartford, Conn.) almost doubled the advantage at the 43:18, fighting inside the left side of the box to open up a shooting angle, but his strike hit the side netting as the Blue Jays maintained a 1-0 edge entering the halftime break.
• The Blue Jays didn't have to wait long to double the lead in the second half, as McGarrah V found Stephens, who fired his shot into the net in the 50^th minute, increasing the gap to 2-0.
• McGarrah V turned goal scorer eight minutes later, as a solo strike increased the gap to 3-0, with 58:56 on the clock.
• Lasell would try and pull themselves back into the game, but a low driven shot from Liam Thompson in the 77^th minute was well saved by USJ goalkeeper El Hadji Anne (Bronx, N.Y.) preserving the 3-0 USJ edge.
• The Lasers would find the back of the net at the 86:37 mark, as Thompson whipped in a cross to Ryan Klopchin, who headed the ball into the back of the net, cutting the gap to 3-1.
• USJ quickly responded with a goal of their town, as graduate student defender Nolan Clack (Hanson, Mass.) found the back of the net at the 88:48 mark to give the Blue Jays a 4-1 victory.

NOTES 

• The goals were the fifth on the year for Stephens and Ofori and third for McGarrah V
• Clack's strike was his first in a USJ uniform.
• McGarrah V dished out his second assist on the year.
• USJ held a 25-15 edge in shots, including a 9-5 edge in shots on goal.
• The Lasers had a slim 4-3 lead in corner kicks.
• Anne tallied three saves to move to 6-0-1 on the year.
• With the result, the Blue Jays extended its winning streak to five matches against the Lasers, maintaining a perfect 5-0-0 record in the all-time series.
• The eight-match unbeaten start to the season is the best start to a season in program history.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays return to West Hartford to begin a four-match homestand against Emmanuel College on Saturday, September 30. Kickoff against the Saints on the USJ Soccer Field is set for 1:00 p.m.

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