BOSTON – For the first time since 2015, the Emmanuel men's soccer program defeated the Saint Joseph's College of Maine Monks, earning a 3-1 victory on Tuesday night in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener for both sides.
The Saints improve to 2-2-0 (1-0 GNAC) with the win. Emmanuel was 0-for-9 in the last nine meetings before tonight's win. Their previous win came on Sept. 12, 2015, a 3-2 triumph over the Monks. Saint Joseph's drops to 0-3-1 (0-1 GNAC) with the loss.

Junior Joe Anderson opened the scoring for the Saints in the 21^st minute, converting on a penalty kick to give Emmanuel the lead. Sophomore Cameron Naples drew a foul in the penalty area, leading to Joe Anderson's attempt. The junior striker made no mistake, firing a shot into the top left corner.

The Saints doubled their advantage shortly after halftime with junior Pierre-Paul Labossiere scoring the first collegiate goal of his career. Off a set-piece opportunity, first-year Rafael Matamoros swung a right-footed ball into the box as Labossiere rose up from six yards out with a perfect header, into the side netting, giving Emmanuel a 2-0 lead.

Emmanuel continued their pressure, adding a third goal in the 65^th minute. Joe Anderson was back for his second off the night, scoring from 15 yards out on a rebound originally shot by first-year Benjamin Anderson. The rookie's attempt on goal was blocked before falling perfectly for Joe Anderson, who fired a right-footed strike into the bottom left corner for the 3-0 lead.

Saint Joseph's had an excellent chance just minutes later, following a Saints turnover near midfield led to a breakaway for the Monks. Saints senior Josh Huckans made a 60-yard run to clean up the error, executing a well-timed tackle in the box, keeping the shutout alive.

The clean sheet would disappear in the 69^th minute with the Monks converting a penalty kick of their own. Saint Joseph's had a free kick they sent into the box as first-year Divin Mpinga drew the call. Senior Rion Dos Santos stepped up and converted into the right side-netting, cutting the deficit to 3-1.

The Saints defense locked down the Monks over the final 20 minutes with Saint Joseph's only registering one attempt on goal for the rest of the match, as Emmanuel earned a 3-1 home win.

Joe Anderson's pair of goals are his first two tallies of the season. Meanwhile, in the Saints goal, sophomore Aristidis Stefanis made four stops, earning his first career collegiate victory.

Dos Santos scored his second of the season for the Monks while senior Liam Foley made five saves on the evening, falling to 0-3-1 with the loss.

Emmanuel hits the road for a Saturday, Sept. 14 meeting at Norwich, continuing on with GNAC play at 1:00 p.m. The Monks look for their first win of 2024, traveling to Dean on Sept. 14 for a noon kickoff in GNAC action.