Men’s Soccer Shutouts Anna Maria, 1-0, on Senior Day

Men’s Soccer Shutouts Anna Maria, 1-0, on Senior Day

EAST BOSTON – Despite a slow first half, the Suffolk men's soccer team was able to stymie Anna Maria, 1-0, thanks to a late second half score by senior Jordan Casey at James A. Sartori Stadium at East Boston Memorial Park Saturday afternoon. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 1, Anna Maria 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (3-10-1, 3-6-1 GNAC) | Anna Maria (2-11-1, 0-8-1 GNAC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Neither team could get anything going early. Suffolk saw several prime opportunities though with the first coming in just five minutes in as senior Alex Desaulnier sent a rocket high over the net. 

Declan Mee looked to setup an opportunity in the 30th minute when the junior lofted a nice ball to freshman John Heeran off a free kick, but the rookie fell just short to keep it scoreless. Senior Joel Shulman also had a chance to open up the scoring on a breakaway down the heart of the field nearly a minute later but his shot sailed high.  

The AMCATs went on the attack early on in the second half as Connor Francis booted a free kick to Tanaka Mararike whose header went just wide of the net in the 56th minute.  

Nearly a 60 seconds later Simon Velez Angel gained possession for the Rams inside Anna Maria's defensive zone, but was buried by defenders and could not get a clean shot off.  but was unable to get a clean shot off on net. 

It wasn't until the 78th minute when the Rams finally converted. Jackson Hines used great field vision to send a pass to Casey, who was caped in the center of the AMCATs zone. The senior captain was able to gain control of the ball, juke a pair of defenders and beat Anna Maria's keeper Jeffre Donahue to the top left corner.  

The Rams contained the AMCATs attack over the final 12 minutes of play to return to the win column.  

KEEPING UP WITH THE KEEPERS

  • David Haines turned away two shots in the victory, his second of the season.
  • Donahue was masterful in net, notching 10 saves, including seven in the second stanza.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

  • Suffolk had an 8-0 advantage in corner kicks.
  • The Rams also held a 22-4 edge in shots including a powerful 11-2 edge in shots on frame.

NOTEWORTHY

  • Suffolk won its third straight against Anna Maria to grab a 7-1 lead all-time versus the AMCATs.
  • Suffolk
  • Suffolk shutout the AMCATs for the third time overall and first since 2013. 
  • Casey registered his fourth career game-winner. 
  • Prior to first-kick, Suffolk honored the playing careers of its four graduating seniors, Casey, Desaulnier, Haines and Shulman. 

POST-GAME PIC
 

LOOKING AHEAD
Suffolk takes seven days off before venturing to Northfield, Vermont, for a Saturday, Oct. 20 showdown at Norwich. First-kick against the Cadets is scheduled for 1 p.m.