Somerville, MA - Senior Bernhard Lotterer (Lima, Peru) netted four goals as the Suffolk University Rams continued their late season push as they head towards the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) playoffs by defeating the Albertus Magnus Falcons, 5-0 on a rainy Saturday afternoon.
Lotterer, who came into the game with four goals on the season, matched his season total in 72 minutes. Lotterer has now scored 6 times in the Rams' best four GNAC games, all three games in which he's scored the Rams have posted victories.
Lotterer's first goal came 25:35 into the first half as he came darting towards the Falcons' net and was hit by a bullet pass from senior Nick Celia (Hanson, MA) for the 1-0 lead.
Lotterer would not slow down in the second half tallying a hat trick in the second frame. Five minutes into the second period he put home his own rebound for the 2-0 score, and then tallied his third goal twenty minutes later as senior Arman Palian (Belmont, MA) got the play started pushing a free kick 40 yards up the field after a Falcons' penalty. Lotterer would finish off his scoring night less than a minute later as he was awarded a penalty kick after being tripped up on a breakaway.
The Rams added a goal six minutes later after a shot by junior Luis Flores (Madrid, Spain) ricocheted off of a Falcons' defender and past goalkeeper Gerald O'Connor (Hamden, CT).
Junior Jack DeJesus (Swampscott, MA) needed to make only two saves for his second shutout in goal on the season, and the Rams second shutout of the week after blanking Mount Ida College, 3-0 on Wednesday evening.
Prior to the game all three of Suffolk's seniors were honored for their contributions to the Men's Soccer program during their athletic careers at Suffolk. Lotterer, an Entrepreneurship major; Palian, a Finance major; and Celia, a Finance major, all hope to earn their degrees this upcoming spring.
The Rams will wrap up the regular season on Tuesday as they travel to Providence, RI for a makeup game with the Johnson & Wales Wildcats. A win could propel the Rams to third place in the GNAC standings and a possible home game in the GNAC Tournament Quarterfinals on Saturday.