SAVITZ, LONEGAN EARN LEAGUE ACADEMIC AWARD

 

Dec. 13: Senior Captain Elliot Savitz and Junior Chris Lonegan earned Liberty Leauge All-Academic Honors for their efforts in the classroom. Savitz is a History Major from San Diego, CA; Lonegan, a North Yarmouth, Maine native, is majoring in Biology.

 

 

SAVITZ AND WATSON NAMED REGIONAL ALL-AMERICANS

 

Dec. 8: Senior Captains Elliot Savitz and Steve Watson were named Northeast Region Second Team All-Americans today. Savitz started all 20 games for the Saints this season, scored 5 goals, and added 5 assists. He had the game winners against Hobart and Salem State. Watson scored 5 goals and notched 3 assists from the backfield for SLU, including a goal and an assist against Rochester in the NCAA tournament.

 

SAINTS SEASON COMES TO AN END

 

Nov. 19: The St. Lawrence University men's soccer team had their NCAA post-season run stopped by the Williams College Ephs on Saturday afternoon in Plattsburgh, NY. Williams kept the Saints offense, which tallied three second half goals in last weekend's upset victory over Rochester, scoreless for the game and won the contest 3-0. SLU ends their season with a mark of 11-8-2, Williams improves to 16-2-0.

 

Just over four minutes into the game, Williams capitalized on their first shot of the game to break the 0-0 tie when Josh Bolton threaded the needle to teammate Kit Fuderich on the left side of the field. Fuderich then had a one-on-one with Saint goalie Emilio Coletta and found the top right corner of the net.

 

In the 37 th minute, Gil Schaper sent a shot into the box that was blocked, and Elliot Savitz garnered the rebound and got a good foot on it, but his shot was also knocked down. Ten minutes later, Jason Koshi had a good look from the left side of the field, but his shot sailed just wide right for the near miss.

 

Then, in the 20 th minute, Paul LaMarca drove a pass that Williams’ goalie Nick Armington got a glove on for the save. The talented Armington broke up another Saint chance soon after when LaMarca crossed a beautiful ball to Koshi who went up for the header, but Armington was able to punch it out before it got to the senior captain.

 

SLU played great defense in the first half, and out shot the Ephs 8 to 5, but could not convert to tie the game. There were no corner kicks in the first 45 minutes of play.

 

In the 50 th minute, Eph Patrick Huffer scored off of a rebound to give Williams the 2-0 advantage.

 

St. Lawrence had a series of good chances near the 54 minute mark with back to back corner kicks, but each time, Williams was able to boot the ball out of the box and reset their defense.

 

The Saints had a great look with just under 29 minutes to play as Schaper crossed a ball in front of the goal to Axel Galeano, but Galeano’s shot jumped just over the crossbar for the near miss.

 

At 64:45, Huffer drew a foul inside the offensive box, to earn his 3rd penalty shot of the season. Emilio Coletta made a brilliant save on Huffer's kick, but could not retain possession. Brett Olsen converged on the loose ball and put away his first goal of the season.

 

St. Lawrence would dominate play for the remainder of the game but would not be able to put up a goal on goalie Armington and his defense. The Williams defense has not allowed a goal in their three NCAA Tournament games thus far, posting 270 scoreless minutes.

 

SAINTS EAGER TO TAKE NEXT STEP

 

Nov. 17: The St. Lawrence Men’s Soccer team is anxious to step on the field this weekend to take on 15-2-0 Williams in the NCAA Sectionals at SUNY Plattsburgh. Williams College has outscored all opponents this season 44 to 11, and has yet to give up a goal in the NCAA Tournament after knocking off Worcester State 4-0 and Keene State 2-0 in the first two rounds.

 

St. Lawrence handed Medaille their second loss of the year in a 4-0 victory over the Mavericks in the first round of the tournament, and continued their roll three days later with a dramatic come from behind victory over powerhouse Rochester in their backyard.

 

Head Coach Bob Durocher took some time to answer questions regarding his team and this weekend.

 

Are you doing anything special to get ready for this weekend?

Not really. As we prepare for each game, we make the guys aware of the other team’s style of play. We don’t talk about individual players until a day or two before the game. This week, we put half of the guys in purple pennies to simulate Williams, even though they’ll be in white, and have them mimic their style of play. They have been doing a pretty good job at that.

 

What is the general attitude of the team?

Good. There is lots of discussion among the guys, which is great. We have been preaching details all year, and the older guys have been doing a great job of reinforcing them to the team. The energy has been good all week.

 

Are you placing any significance on the fact that Williams beat you guys in this game last season?

It’s significant because we know who they are. We know a lot about them from playing and scouting them, we’ve played them twice now, once in1998 in the quarterfinals, and last year. We have not brought up last year as a motivator for the guys yet.

 

Do you have any go to players that you’re trying to highlight for this weekend?

Not really. Our older guys pretty much fill that role. They have a lot of experience at this level. They’ve been doing a good job leading and bringing the younger guys along. In this situation, you expect that of the guys who have been here before.

 

What are your overall impressions of this weekend?

From here on out, everyone’s good. I just want the guys to play their best and not make [mental] mistakes. If they work hard and leave it all on the field, they will never have to worry about the “what ifs”.

 

The game between the Saints and Ephs of Williams will be played on Saturday, November 19 th at 11:00am. The winner will take on the winner of Plattsburgh and Western New England on Sunday, November 20 th at 1:00pm for the chance to compete in the final four in North Carolina.

 

SAINTS NEXT STOP: PLATTSBURGH

 

Nov. 14: The St. Lawrence Men’s Soccer team will head to SUNY Plattsburgh to compete in the NCAA Sectionals this Saturday. They are slated to face Williams College on Saturday, Nov. 19th at 11:00 am. If they win that game, the will take on the winner of Plattsburgh and Western New England on Sunday, Nov. 20th at 1:00 pm. The winner of Sunday’s contest will travel to Greensboro, NC to compete in the final four on November 25th and 26th.

 

 

SAINTS ADVANCE TO SWEET 16 WITH 3-1 UPSET OVER YELLOWJACKETS

 

Nov. 12: The St. Lawrence Men’s Soccer team beat a very talented and undefeated Rochester squad tonight to continue their fight through the NCAA tournament and improve to 11-7-2 overall. Rochester finished their season 16-1-0. The first half was all Rochester, but SLU rallied back to score three goals to make it 3-1 Saints at the end of regulation with goals from Jason Koshi, Sean Charles, and Steve Watson.

 

At 2:28, Rochester was awarded a corner kick and Nick Mikolenko took it from the right side of the field. Mikolenko booted the ball into left side the goalie box, where it found Jeremy Mann who slid it past SLU goalkeeper Emilio Coletta into the bottom left corner of the box for his fifth goal of the year.

 

Nine minutes into the game, the Saints gained some momentum and charged downfield, but Koshi’s shot from 30 yards out sailed just high of the crossbar, and the score remained 0-1.

 

At 16:30, Rochester’s Jeremy Goico got a foot on a ball that was bouncing around the goalie box off of another corner kick and touched it in, but the goal was called back due to a Yellowjacket foul.

 

The Saints mounted another rally at approximately twenty minutes, but an Elliot Savitz shot sailed just high, and Rochester maintained the 1-0 lead.

 

With 11 minutes remaining in the first half, Coletta notched his first save of the night on a buttet from Nate Micklos at the top of the box that was set up by another Rochester corner kick.

 

The Saints had another good look with just under seven minutes left in the half. Kiel Dwyer touched the ball across the top of the box to Chris Lonegan who found Dan Quitt towards the middle of the field, but Quitt’s shot floated just high and wide of the left corner of the goal.

 

Rochester controlled the tempo for the majority of the first half and forced SLU to play defense, limiting their shots to 4 for the first half. The Yellowjackets took 7 shots in the first 45 minutes, and the score going into the second half was 1-0 Rochester.

 

At 55 minutes, Koshi took a pass at midfield and dribbled past a Yellowjacket defender to create a one-on-one with Rochester goalie Paco Corbalan. Koshi juked Corbalan at the top of the box and touched it in, but it was called back because of an alleged Koshi foul. Ian Fairlie had a great chance from the top of the box three minutes later, but his missile was pushed just wide right by Carbalan.

 

The Saints would even it up at 62:18 when Watson launched a ball up field to Koshi who would make this one count. Again, he dribbled around a defender and slid it past the goalie into the bottom right corner for the 1-1 tie.

 

At 76:50, Mangee lofted a corner kick into the box from the left side of the field and found Charles who headed it into the net to give SLU the 2-1 lead.

 

With just under minutes remaining in the game, the Saints were awarded another corner kick. Mangee took it from the left side of the field and shot it in to Watson who one touched it in to make it 3-1 St. Lawrence.

 

With less than five minutes to play, Rochester played a corner kick from the left side of the field to the far right of the box, where it was headed back to the left side and Goico got a foot on it, but Coletta grabbed it for the save.

 

Coletta collected 3 saves in the net for SLU, while Corbalan earned 2 for Rochester. Overall, the Yellowjackets out shot the Saints 16 to 10, but St. Lawrence held the slight advantage on corner kicks at 6 to 5.

 

The Saints will play next Saturday, November 19 th versus the winner of the Keene St. and Williams game which takes place at 1:00pm tomorrow. The site and time for the game is to be determined.

 

GAME TO BE PLAYED AT WEST IRONDEQUOIT HS

Nov. 11: The Yellowjackets and Saints will meet on Saturday, November 12, at 6 pm at West Irondequoit High School. The winner advances into the regionals the following weekend. Tickets are priced at $6 for general admission, $3 for students, senior citizens, and children aged 3-12. The gates will open at 5 pm.

 

Directions to Irondequoit High School are as follows:

 

The School is located at 260 Cooper Road in the town of Irondequoit. To reach IHS, take Route 104 to the Hudson Avenue exit. Take Hudson Avenue north into Irondequoit to the Titus Avenue (Hudson Avenue ends at Titus Avenue). Go east (right) to the first light, which is Cooper Road. The High School will be 5 blocks on your right.

 

From the north, Irondequoit High School can be reached from Charlotte and the Ontario State Parkway by crossing the Stutson Street Bridge, turning right onto Thomas Avenue (at the foot of the bridge), turning right (south) at St. Paul Blvd and continuing straight onto Cooper Road at the next light (do NOT bear right). The High School will be on the left, about 3 blocks.

 

TRIO OF SAINTS EARN WEEKLY RECOGNITION

 

Nov. 10: Steve Watson, Axel Galeano, and Emilio Coletta earned Liberty League Player of the Week honors for their efforts last week in the Liberty League tournament.

 

Steve Watson played a huge role in shutting out Hamilton on Friday night, and holding Union to only one goal on Saturday as the Saints captured the Liberty League tournament championship. Axel Galeano scored both Saint goals on Saturday in a 2-1 win over Union to claim Liberty League Championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. Emilio Coletta earned a shutout on Friday night against Hamilton, and held Union to only one goal on Saturday, knocking down 3 saves.

 

The Saints face off against Rochester this Saturday night at 6:00 pm in Rochester in their second game of the NCAA Tournament.

 

CAPTAINS PAVE THE WAY TO ROCHESTER

 

Nov. 9: The St. Lawrence men’s soccer team beat Medaille College 4-0 in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer tournament Wednesday afternoon at Sandy MacAllaster Field. The Saints move to 10-7-2 on the year; the Mavericks finish with a record of 18-2-2.

 

Playing in the NCAA Tournament for their eighth consecutive season, the Saints made an early statement with a goal at 2:21. Senior Nick Mangee booted a corner into the box where senior co-captain Steve Watson headed it to teammate Sean Charles who was waiting by the left post. Charles drilled it into the top right corner for his first goal of the year.

 

The Saints kept the pressure up throughout the first half, finishing with 9 shots to Medaille’s 3. SLU also held the advantage on corner kicks at 4 to 0. Maverick goalie Craig Yanni kept his team in the game with 3 important saves.

 

Although Medaille tried to establish momentum to begin the second half, the Saints were too strong offensively taking another 16 shots in the second half. Senior co-captain Jason Koshi tallied his second goal of the year when co-captain Elliot Savtiz shot was saved but the rebound landed on Koshi’s right foot. Koshi was then able to push it into the open net to make it 2-0 Saints.

 

A minute and twenty six seconds later, at 55:56, junior Axel Galeano iced the game with his third goal in two games off of a great touch pass from senior co- captain Gil Schaper to give the Saints a 3-0 lead. With less than seven minutes remaining, Chris Harrison finished the scoring when he took a pass from Chris Lonegan and beat the keeper on a one-on-one situation for his first goal of the year.

 

For the day, the Saints out shot the Mavericks 25-6, and held the advantage in corners at 9 to 0. Freshman Emilio Coletta made 4 saves in the net for SLU for his fifth shutout of the year. Yanni had 9 saves for Medaille.

 

With the win, the Saints will travel to Rochester to take on the Yellowjackets this Saturday at 6:00pm to continue their quest for a National Championship.

 

SAINTS WILL HOST MEDAILLE IN NCAA OPENER

 

Nov. 7: St. Lawrence University’s men’s soccer team will make its eighth straight NCAA tournament appearance and MacAllaster Field will be the site of an NCAA game for the fifth straight year as the Saints will host Medaille in the opening round of the 2005 tournament on Wednesday at 1:00pm.

 

The Saints earned the right to play in the tournament by winning the Liberty League tournament championship with a 2-1 win over host Union on Saturday. Medaille, located in Buffalo, won the AMCC championship with a 2-1 win over Lake Erie College and is 18-1-2 on the season.

 

Ticket prices for general admission will be $6, students and seniors will be charged $3, and children 3-12 will be charged $2.

 

The winner of the Wednesday game between the Saints and Medaille will play at Rochester on Saturday at 6:00pm. The other seeded team in the Saint bracket is Plattsburgh, which will host the winner of a game between Nazareth and Brockport State which will be played at Brockport Wednesday. Other Saturday games in the bracket included Worcester State at Williams, Keene vs. Wheaton, Western New England at Western Connecticut and Union against Johnson and Wales.