MERRILL GIVEN LIBERTY LEAGUE RECOGNITION

Sept. 4: The Liberty League recognized senior forward James Merrill’s outstanding efforts for the Saints this past weekend in the Lotto Classic, naming him Co-Offensive Performer of the Week.

Merrill (left) was consistent for the Saints this weekend, scoring a goal in both tournament games. He scored the insurance goal for the Saints 2-0 win over New Jersey City University on Saturday. On Sunday, the 2007 Lotto Classic All-Tournament pick scored the third goal of the game off a play that began as a corner kick for Bridgewater State, adding to the Saints lead in a 4-0 win over the Bears.  

Merrill and the Saints will play Rochester on Friday at 4:00pm and Geneseo on Saturday at 2:00pm. Both games will be held at Sandy MacAllaster Field.

(Photo by Tara Freeman)

SAINTS VICTORIOUS

OVER BRIDGEWATER STATE,

EARN 2007 LOTTO CLASSIC CROWN

Sept. 2: Senior forward David Osorno tallied two goals for the St. Lawrence University men’s soccer team Sunday, leading the team to a 4-0 shutout against the Bridgewater State Bears to win the 2007 Lotto Classic, held on their home turf at Sandy MacAllaster Field.

The Saints were scoreless until the 41 st minute of play when junior Dan Quitt served the ball to the near post, where Osorno was waiting and redirected the ball past Bears keeper Ryan Seifert and into the back left corner of the goal.

The Elmhurst, NY native’s second goal did not come until more than twenty minutes after the second half began. In much the same way, Osorno redirected the ball into the goal from a cross to the back post from senior forward Chris Harrison.

The last ten minutes of the game proved to be the most exciting with two goals scored within a minute of each other. In the 83rd minute, the Bears had an opportunity to get on the board with a corner kick, but junior forward Paul LaMarca put an end to that with a fast break attack. LaMarca saw senior forward James Merrill one-on-one at the top and played him out there. Merrill then took the ball midfield and managed to get past two Bears defenders before tucking the third goal into the back of the net.

Only 57 seconds later, first-year student Ryan Hefner played a ball into Harrison, who combined on a give-and-go and earned his second assist of the game. Hefner then struck a side footed shot and hit a hard ball past Seifert into the lower corner of the goal, giving the Webster, NY native his first goal of his collegiate career.

“We were able to maintain possession of the ball much better than yesterday,” Head Coach Bob Durocher said of his team’s offensive game which included a 37-7 shot advantage. “Defensively, we did a better job of squeezing and we went in hard on the double teams. It was a good start for the season, but now we know what we need to work on in order to be prepared for two tough games next weekend.”

Four Saints were named to the Lotto Classic All-Tournament team: Osorno, Merrill, junior keeper and captain Emilio Coletta, shutout both games for the Saints in the tournament, and sophomore back Terrence O’Brien, who anchored the Scarlet and Brown defense and helped hold off the Bears to only seven shots in the title game.

The Saints will be at home next weekend and will play two non-conference games against the University of Rochester on Friday, September 7 th at 4:00pm and Geneseo on Saturday, September 8 th at 2:00pm at Sandy MacAllaster Field.

BOGOSIAN AND MERRILL LEAD SAINTS TO LOTTO CLASSIC TITLE GAME

Sept. 1: Senior forwards Charlie Bogosian and James Merrill got the Saints off on the right foot in the 2007 season, as each tallied their first goal of the year, and led the St. Lawrence University men’s soccer team to a decisive 2-0 win over the New Jersey City University (NJCU) Gothic Knights at Sandy MacAllaster Field on Saturday in the Lotto Classic.

The scoring got underway at 29:29 as senior back Mike Bobbie headed a pass through the goal box off a direct kick, which landed on Bogosian’s foot. The Manlius, NY native fired a shot that beat Gothic Knights keeper Andre Viola and give the Saints a 1-0 edge.

Sophomore Emmanuel Mbong had a chance to extend the lead for the Saints, but his shot that Viola deflected hit the crossbar and stayed out of the net.

The Saints defense did an outstanding job defending their own goal, as junior captain Emilio Coletta was not forced to make a save in the entire first half. The Saints out-shot the Gothic Knights 7-6 in the first 45 minutes and carried a 1-0 lead into the second half.

The second half proved to be just as exciting as the first, with both offensive teams battling up and down the field for possession of the ball. Both Viola and Coletta saw much action near the net in the last half of the game, making three saves each. It wasn’t until the 75 th minute that Merrill tacked on an insurance goal with an assist from Bogosian to give the Saints a 2-0 lead.

The Gothic Knights tried to take advantage of their chances they had on Coletta in the second half, but the Montreal, Quebec native was up to the task, turning away each of the three shots on goal he faced to post his first shutout of the season.

NJCU managed to outshoot the Saints in the second half 13-11 and 19-18 overall. The Gothic Knights also had the edge in corner kicks, 5-2.

The Saints look to win the Lotto North Country Classic tomorrow as they take on Bridgewater State. The Bears defeated Clarkson 1-0 in the first game of the tournament, thanks to a strong performance in goal by Drew Pontbriand, who was able to protect the net against Clarkson’s offense with six saves. The Saints and the Bears will meet on Sandy MacAllaster Field at 2:00pm.