#22 SAINTS EARN LIBERTY LEAGUE PLAYOFF SPOT AFTER DEFEATING RIVAL CLARKSON 2-0

Oct. 13: The St. Lawrence University men’s soccer team clinched a spot in the Liberty League Playoffs Saturday afternoon after beating North Country rival Clarkson University 2-0 on Sandy MacAllaster Field.

The Saints, who are ranked 22 nd nationally according to the NSCAA/adidas Rankings, are now 8-1-3 overall in the season and 4-0-1 in the conference. Clarkson fell to 3-7-2 overall and 0-4-1 in the Liberty League.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Saints were able to maintain possession throughout much of the game, despite the consistent efforts of the Golden Knights, who were putting pressure on St. Lawrence but were unable to put the ball between the posts. St. Lawrence out shot Clarkson 25-7.

The Saints’ first goal came at 12:58 after junior midfielder Paul LaMarca shot a short corner to teammate and captain Axel Galeano, who then drove the ball from just outside the 18 to the head of senior back Mike Bobbie, who headed it into the net and past Golden Knights Jonathon Rushing. Bobbie’s second goal of the season gave the Saints an early 1-0 lead.

The second goal came at the very end of the contest with only 1:45 remaining in the game. The Golden Knights had been down a man since the 77 th minute of play when Kyle List was ejected from the game after receiving two yellow cards. Galeano got the ball and set up the piece and got the ball to senior forward David Osorno, who was just beyond the six at the top of the box. The Elmhurst, NY native drilled the ball past Rushing to insure the win for the Saints.

Golden Knights’ keeper Rushing had an outstanding game in the box, as he made nine big saves for Clarkson. St. Lawrence keeper and captain junior Emilio Coletta had two saves for the Saints and earned his fifth shutout of the season.

The Saints continue Liberty League action next weekend on Sandy MacAllaster Field as they will welcome Hamilton on Saturday and Hobart on Sunday. Saturday’s game against the Continentals is set to begin at 3:00pm.

SAINTS SCORE IN OVERTIME TO BEAT POTSDAM IN NORTH COUNTRY MATCHUP, 3-2

Oct. 9: Sophomore midfielder Eric Wolcott netted three points for the Saints, scoring a goal and assisting the game-winner, as the St. Lawrence men’s soccer team went on to beat North Country competitor SUNY Potsdam 3-2 in overtime late Tuesday night in Potsdam, NY.

The first goal of the evening belonged to Potsdam, as the Bears’ Mike Hooker scored with the game only 6:13 old. Teammate Jeremy Boula assisted Hooker’s first goal of the season as they gave the Bears a 1-0 lead.

It would take the Saints nearly 18 minutes to respond, but Wolcott did so after getting the ball from teammate sophomore back Terrence O’Brien. The Concord, NH native tried to cross the ball from nearly 40 yards out, but the ball rocketed into the net from down the flank. Wolcott’s second goal of the season tied the game at 1-1 in the 25 th minute.

Potsdam’s Patrick Choules was able to get Hooker the ball in the 56 th minute, who then found himself with another scoring opportunity on a wide open back post and shot the ball past Coletta to put the Bears back in the lead with a 2-1 advantage over the Saints early in the second half.

The Saints had five shots before they were able to put the ball past Bears’ keeper Craig Waasdorp again with 8:32 left in regulation. Senior back and captain Mike Bobbie got the ball off a restart from senior defender Sean Charles and played it from the back post and redirected the ball into the goal to tie the game at two goals a piece.

Wolcott found himself with the ball with a little less than two minutes left in the first overtime and got it to Paul LaMarca, who drilled a shot from the back to the front post, putting it past Waasdorp for the game-winning goal. LaMarca’s fifth goal of the season brought the final score to 3-2 in favor of the Saints.

The Saints out-shot the Bears 15-8 and had a 9-5 shot-on-goal advantage. Coletta had three saves for St. Lawrence, while Waasdorp had six saves for Potsdam.