BOSTON - Emmanuel men's soccer fell 1-0 to the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon at Roberto Clemente Field, in the opening match of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference schedule.
The match was scoreless through the opening 45 minutes despite pressure from both sides. The Saints nearly broke through early in the second half on a free-kick chance.
In the 59
th minute, junior
Luis Pimental lined up a free kick from 35 yards out. His right-footed, in-swinging ball bounced 10 yards from goal and was redirected by sophomore
Lucas Silvia. The deflection rang off the crossbar and came bouncing out, keeping the match scoreless.
The deadlock broke in the 62nd minute when Blue Jays midfielder
Nico Hamzavi found his second of the season. On a USJ free kick, Hamzavi's cross was perfectly weighted to the back post. That cross hit the inside of the post and bounced into the net,
giving the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead.
Saints first-year goalie
David Derk finished with five saves. Blue Jays goalie
Andres Diosa made a pair of saves for the visitor's in the clean sheet win.
The loss drops Emmanuel to 1-3-1 overall and 0-1-0 in conference play, while Saint Joseph improves to 1-2-1 and 1-0-0. The Saints are back in action on Tuesday, Sept. 15, hosting Saint Joseph's of Maine at 7:00 p.m. in GNAC play on Clemente Field.
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