EAST BOSTON – Neither team was able to find the back of the net as each goaltender played flawless in net for their respective teams and the first-ever meeting between Suffolk men's soccer and St. Joseph (Conn.) ended in a 0-0, double-overtime tie Saturday afternoon at James A. Sartori Stadium at East Boston Memorial Park.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 0, St. Joseph (Conn.) 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (2-5-1, 2-2-1 GNAC) | St. Joseph (Conn.) (5-1-1, 2-1-1 GNAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk controlled much of the first frame and saw three good chances on target. The best came off Gabriel Perez's cleat as the first-year sent a bullet from the left 35-yard line towards the upper right corner. Anes Gadun robbed the rookie of his first collegiate goal to keep Suffolk off the scoreboard.
Gadun's gloves couldn't to pick up every ball sent in his direction for the remainder of the first half to send the conference foes into the locker rooms scoreless.
Suffolk commanded the majority of the opening portion of the second stanza, but it was the Blue Jays that had more opportunities over the first 20 minutes with a pair of shots on target.Tom Bennett stood tall in between the pipes for the blue-and-gold and kept zeros on the scoreboard.
As the clock ticked towards the 75-minute mark, Tyler Mello went a on a breakaway thanks to a go-ahead pass from Leonardo Acosta. The sophomore was tackled by a pair of USJ players and the ref whistled a foul to set-up a free-kick, which Jack O'Connor took. The sophomore defender's attempt hit the bottom of the crossbar and fell just outside the goal line as the 0-0 contest remained.
USJ saw a huge chance with just under 10 minutes remaining in regulation as Daniel Castro had a wide-open attempt. Bennett swooped in from the far left to keep the visitors quiet.
As time dwindled down Suffolk continued to pepper Gadun with multiple attempts. He played bigger than he his 6-foot-0 frame to force the extra session.
In the first overtime, neither team really had a chance until the final few minutes. The Rams defense kicked the ball out of harms way with Bennett on the ground and Gadun made a split, kick-save on a Jordan Casey shot to push the second extra session.
Suffolk's momentum has the blue-and-gold control the final frame with the hosts taking 80 percent of the five attempts. The Rams saw to great opportunities. The first came by Casey who put the only shot in the second extra session on target in the opening five minutes and Mello had the opportunity to convert the rebound, but his shot went just wide on the right. Off a corner, a header by Perez looked like it found its way into the net, but once again Gadun was there to pick up the pieces.
USJ's only attempt of came with less than a minute left to play and Christian LaBella's shot flew well over the cross bar as the conference contest ended in a scoreless stalemate.
KEEPING UP WITH THE KEEPERS
- Bennett turned aside all six shots he faced.
- Gadun stood on his head, saving all 11 of the Rams' attempts.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Suffolk nearly doubled USJ in shots, 29-12 and the Rams had a 13-6 lead in shots on goal.
- The Rams held the advantage in corners, 13-3.
NOTEWORTHY
- Suffolk and St. Joseph (Conn.) met for the first time.
- The Rams went into overtime for the second time this season. In those contests, Suffolk is 0-1-1.
- Suffolk went into double overtime for the first time in 2018 and first since tying Emmanuel, 1-1, after 110 minutes Oct. 7, 2017.
POST-GAME PIC
COMING UP
Suffolk heads back on the road Wednesday, Sept. 26 as it is set to visit Regis for a midweek match, which is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
