Box Score BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomores Travis Cole (Beckley, W.V.) and Alex DeSaulnier (Wilbraham, Mass.) scored second half goals to power the Emmanuel College men's soccer team over Rivier University, 2-0, Saturday afternoon at Roberto Clemente Field in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action. The win gets the Saints back to .500 on the year at 7-7-2 overall and 3-3-1 in GNAC play while the loss drops the Raiders to 7-6-1 and 3-3-1.
The Saints controlled most of the first half action, outshooting the Raiders 9-2 in the stanza while also owning a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks but it wasn't until the 75th minute of play that they found the scoreboard. With the game deadlocked at 0-0, Emmanuel earned their only corner kick of the second half. Junior midfielder Cameron Messier (Belchertown, Mass.) launched a ball bending away from the Rivier goal, finding the head of Cole. The defender soared above the Raiders defensive unit and redirected the ball into the back corner of the net for his second goal of the season to give EC the 1-0 lead.
Just over 11 minutes later, the Saints added an insurance goal to put the game away. Senior forward Jordan Maurer (Florence, Mass.) carried the ball deep into Raider territory on the right wing before cutting in and crossing the ball through the visitor's box. The pass found Messier who delivered a one-touch pass to DeSaulnier right in front of the net and the sophomore finished home his seventh score of the year with 4:22 remaining in regulation to seal the win.
Emmanuel improves to 7-1-2 (.800) on the year at Roberto Clemente Field marking the highest single-season win total at home in the program's history.
Rookie keeper Jonathan Ferrarini (Hanover, Mass.) posted his second consecutive shutout making one save to earn the win. Rivier goalie Collin Deyarmin (Raymond, Mass.) made five saves in a losing effort.
Prior to the start of the game, the Emmanuel Athletic Department recognized the seven seniors from the 2016 Men's Soccer roster, honoring the careers of Maurer, Joe Russo (Malden, Mass.), Connor Bradshaw (Branford, Conn.), Colin O'Donnell (Killingworth, Conn.), Wojciech Kopacz (Garfield, N.J.), Zach Foley (Montville, Conn.) and Jeff Allen (South Windsor, Conn.).
The Saints return to action on Wednesday, October 19 when they head to Providence, R.I. for a GNAC battle against Johnson & Wales University at 4:00 PM. Rivier hosts Norwich University at 5:00 PM the same day.
