Men's Soccer Falls at Home to Johnson & Wales Tuesday

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's soccer team fell at home to Johnson & Wales University (JWU), 4-0, in a physical Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contest Tuesday afternoon at the USJ Soccer Field in West Hartford, Conn. With the result, the Blue Jays fall to 8-1-1 overall and 6-1-1 in conference play, while the Wildcats move to 7-2-1 and 6-1-0 in the GNAC.

KEY MOMENTS 

• The game started as a back-and-forth affair until JWU's junior midfielder Conner Elliott (Mansfield, Mass.) found the opening goal in the 12th minute, finding space on the right flank before firing a low-driven shot past USJ's junior goalkeeper El Hadji Anne (Bronx, N.Y.) to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
• Following the opening goal, the game would fall quiet, as neither team could muster a great scoring opportunity.
• USJ tried to get past the JWU defense late in the half, but senior forward Dane Stephens (Linstead, Jamaica) and senior midfielder Anthony Delacruz (East Hartford, Conn.) saw their shots blocked, as the Wildcats maintained a 1-0 lead entering the halftime break.
• JWU struck first once again in the second half, as Elliott collected a loose ball before finding sophomore forward Carlos Andrade (Cranston, R.I.), who fired into an empty net to increase the lead to 2-0 in the 53rd minute.
• The Wildcats increased their lead to 3-0 a minute later, as junior midfielder Brian Miller (Ramsey, N.J.) picked out a pass to Andrade, who headed the ball into the net.
• Stephens nearly pulled one back for USJ in the 55th minute, launching a free-kick strike from roughly 35-yards out, but his effort rattled off the crossbar.
• JWU added a fourth in the 57th minute, as Elliott scored his second of the game, increasing the gap to 4-0.
• USJ had a great chance to cut the gap in the 60th minute, as sophomore forward Emmanuel Ofori (East Hartford, Conn.) drew a penalty kick after being taken down inside the 18-yard box. Stephens stepped up to take the shot, but JWU's graduate student goalkeeper Jacob Friedman (Woodland Hills, Calif.) guessed the right way, denying Stephens to preserve the 4-0 lead.
• The Blue Jays would not be able to get past the JWU defense for the remainder of the game, as JWU took home a 4-0 victory.

NOTES 

• Anne played 60:54 in goal for the Blue Jays, picking up the loss to move to 7-1-1 between the posts on the year.
• Senior Jose Miguel Garcia Martin (Madrid, Spain) played the remaining 29:06 in goal.
• Despite the scoreline, USJ outshot JWU in the match overall, 12-7. However JWU held an edge in shots on goal, 5-4.
• Stephens paced USJ's offensive attack with a game-high six shots, including a game-best three shots on goal.
• Both teams registered a pair of corner kicks each.
• There were a combined 52 fouls called in the contest.
• With the result, the Wildcats extend the gap in the all-time series to 5-1-1.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays continue a four-game homestand with a matchup against Regis College on Saturday, October 7. Kickoff against the Pride at the USJ Soccer Field is set for 3:00 p.m.

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