St. Lawrence University's Reed Carr (10) flies between two Potsdam defenders, including fullback James Edsall (4),
and redirects a shot toward Potsdam goalkeeper Evan Smith (25).  (Dan Bisaccio photo)  Game Gallery

St. Lawrence's Ryan Moore (3) wards off a Potsdam player.

November 16: The St. Lawrence University men’s soccer team suffered their first loss in five games as they fell to host Amherst College in the second round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament by a score of 1-0 on Hitchcock Field in Amherst, MA Sunday afternoon. The Saints conclude their season, which included a Liberty League Tournament title, with a 13-7-1 record. Amherst earns their second consecutive “Sweet 16” berth with the win and improve to a 13-3-3 mark. In a balanced first half that concluded in a scoreless tie, the two teams only saw a combined five shots on goal. Amherst held a 6-4 advantage in shots and a 3-2 edge in shots on goal. Towards the end of the 12th minute, Amherst had their real first shot at getting on the scoreboard and used a short corner from Nick Lynch to teammate G.L. Genco, who played it to the far post to awaiting Ian Rothkopf. Rothkopf tried to control the ball with his body but was unable to do so as the ball trickled just wide of the post. A shot by rookie forward Dan Marvin (Bow, NH/Holderness) five minutes later was deflected by Lord Jeff keeper Lennard Kovacs to give the Saints a corner opportunity, but the Scarlet and Brown was unable to put a foot on the ball as Kovacs came off his line to collect the ball. St. Lawrence applied some strong pressure in the middle of the first as they were able to keep the ball in their offensive half of the field, but a spurt of energy on the part of Amherst in the final minutes gave them a few more scoring chances as the half winded down. The Jeff’s Jae Heo tried to get the first goal for Amherst with under a minute to play as the ball was played to him from teammate Sam Kaplan, who sent the ball over the Saints’ back line. Heo faced Saints’ senior keeper and co-captain Emilio Coletta (Montreal, QC/Marianapolis College) all by himself as he two-touched it and crushed a shot towards the frame, but Coletta dove to get his fingers on it to send it just left of the post to close the first half. The game continued in much the same fashion, as neither team was able to muster anything towards goal in the opening minutes of the period. Senior midfielder and co-captain Ryan Moore (Keene, NH/Keene) tried to use a restart just outside the box early to give St. Lawrence a goal, but came up empty as Kovacs collected it at the far post. Heo took it upon himself to try Coletta again 12 minutes into the second stanza as he powered a high shot from 30 yards out towards Coletta, who robbed him to give Amherst a second chance from the corner. The restart sent the ball to Genco who passed it back into Rothkopf as he turned to push the ball just wide of the left post. The host team’s efforts eventually paid off as the Lord Jeffs’ leading scorer Jake Duker netted the first goal in the 68th minute of play. Heo used his head to play down a ball to Duker, who calmly sent the low ball past Coletta to earn the 1-0 lead for Amherst. The game became more physical following the goal as players on both teams committed tough fouls and were given yellow cards in the final 20 minutes of play. Moore tried his hand at another free kick from the opposite side of the pitch but sent the ball in and was blocked by a Lord Jeff defender. Seconds later, rookie forward Alex Soto (Lorton, VA/South County Secondary) found himself with the ball all alone on the left flank as the Saints changed fields but was denied a goal by Kovacs in the final five minutes. Amherst was able to use their height to their advantage in the remaining moments, as they continued to clear high balls with headers to push the ball back out to midfield. At the end of the contest, they held an edge on shots (12-7) and shots on goal (5-4). The Saints had a 7-6 advantage on corner opportunities. Both Coletta and Kovacs made four stops for their respective teams. For the men’s soccer class of 2008, which includes Coletta, Moore, co-captain Paul LaMarca (Mesa, AZ/Red Mountain), Jay Thornhill (Montreal QC/Loomis Chaffee), Dan Quitt (Ellicott, MD/John Jay), Marco Falcon-Viale (South Salem, NY/John Jay), and Kiel Dwyer (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate HS). The seniors played in three NCAA Tournaments and finish with a 45-24-10 overall record. Between the seven of them, they amassed 100 points, including 32 goals, 36 assists, and 13 game winners.

November 15: The St. Lawrence University men’s soccer overcame a 2-0 deficit in the middle of the second period and scored three unanswered goals in front of a large energetic group of fans and Saints men’s soccer alumni to defeat Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 3-2 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at host Amherst College Saturday afternoon. The Saints will advance to the second round and face the winner of the Amherst/Western New England College game on Sunday. With the win, St. Lawrence improves to 13-6-1 and Saints Head Coach Bob Durocher earns his 11th NCAA First Round victory in 12 appearances. The Engineers conclude their season with a 16-4-2 mark. “Since the beginning of the year, I told this team that they’ll never be champions if they can’t come from behind and win. We were able to do that,” said Durocher. “They stay composed despite being down two goals and were able to regain momentum after putting away our first goal. Our guys coming off the bench did a great job today, and that added to our success.” Rookie Brendan Gorman (Ottawa, ON/St. Mathew’s) tallied two goals and senior midfielder and co-captain Paul LaMarca (Mesa, AZ/Red Mountain) earned the game winner, while classmate and senior co-captain Ryan Moore (Keene, NH/Keene) tallied an assist. In the first, the Scarlet and Brown was able to control the pace of the game, although the shots MIT was able to get off were nearly all on net. St. Lawrence made some scoring chances early on but was unable to capitalize. Rookie Dan Marvin (Bow, NH/Holderness School) found the ball early on and fired the first shot for the Saints from 30 yards out, but it just missed the near post to go wide just 5:55 deep into the game. Moore took his first of 12 corners just 12:22 into the game, sending the ball into traffic just above the six, where sophomore back James Stewart (St. Davids, ONT/Sir Winston Churchill) headed the ball high of the crossbar, maintaining the scoreless game. MIT’s first real scoring chance came at the beginning of the 17th minute, where Zachary Kabelac took a shot from the corner of 18, but Saints’ keeper and co-captain Emilio Coletta (Montreal, QC/Marianapolis College) was able to put himself in front of the ball and collect it safely. Both teams continued to create chances but lightning put the game on hold for nearly an hour with just 1:24 left on the clock in the first. Upon resuming the contest, the Saints were fouled just outside the 18, giving MIT’s leading scorer Christian Therkelson a free kick at the top of the box. The sophomore calmly sent it into the high right corner and out of Coletta’s reach to give the Engineers a 1-0 lead with just five seconds left in the half. The energy from MIT’s squad could be felt both on the field and along the bench in the opening minutes of the second. A foul on St. Lawrence inside the 18 gave Engineer Andrew Bishara a penalty kick, where he faked an awaiting Coletta, who dove to the left as Bishara sent a low ball to the right of the keeper to double their lead as the scoreboard read 2-0 in their favor towards the end of the 53rd minute. Two goals down, the Saints did everything except give up as they netted their first of three consecutive goals in the opening seconds of the 61st minute as LaMarca sent a shot towards goal where Caldwell was unable to collect the ball, sending the rebound out to Gorman who was in a perfect position inside the six and had a wide open shot on goal to cut the Engineers’ lead in half with just 29:46 remaining in regulation. That was enough to electrify an excited Saints squad as Gorman tallied another in the 74th minute after Moore fed him a corner to tie the game at two goals apiece. LaMarca had the game winning goal five minutes later as he beat two Engineer defenders and fired a shot from 30 yards out to give St. Lawrence a 3-2 advantage and their first lead of the game. St. Lawrence was able to hold onto that lead through the final moments to earn the victory and a spot in the second round. “It was a great win for us today,” said LaMarca following the game. “We’ve gotten over the hump of getting through the first round and are already focused and excited for tomorrow.” St. Lawrence held an advantage in shots (19-8), shots on goal (11-6), and created 12 corner opportunities compared to MIT’s two. Caldwell made eight saves while Coletta tallied four. “The truest form of character is when all is closing in around you and you’re able to pull it together and do what you need to do. We, as a team, did that today,” said Coletta. Moore added, “I think the poor field conditions due to the weather hindered us in parts of the game, but we were able to overcome those. We remained patient and positive throughout the entire game, and that is the core reason we won today.”

St. Lawrence University’s Kiel Dwyer celebrates after a goal by teammate Dan Marvin.  Junior forward Emmanuel Mbong notched a game-high three points with two goals and an assist to lead St. Lawrence to a 3-0 non-conference win over R.I.T.. James Stewart scored his second game-winning goal of the season, while rookie forward Dan Marvin slammed his second goal of the season.  (Mark VanBibber photo)  Game Gallery

St. Lawrence University’s Emmanuel Mbong (6) speed dribbles alongside RIT’s Mike Gramzow (19). Mbong scored two goals.
 

SUNY Plattsburgh’s Pat Shaughnessy (9) from Plattsburgh, NY sends the ball upfield while colliding with SUNY Potsdam’s Trey Bearor (20) of Harrisville, NY.  Plattsburgh ripped three first-half goals to beat Potsdam 5-1. (E. Foote photo)  Game Gallery

SUNY Plattsburgh’s Jon Reeves (16) controls the ball while being tracked down from behind by a SUNY Potsdam player.

November 7: No. 3-seeded Brockport and No. 2 Plattsburgh State battled to a scoreless double overtime draw on Friday afternoon at the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame, but the Golden Eagles won the penalty-kick shootout 5-4 to advance to the State University of New York Athletic Conference championship game. While the result will go into the record book officially as a tie, Brockport exacted a measure of revenge by bouncing back from a 3-0 defeat in Plattsburgh on Sept. 27. The Golden Eagles will bring a 10-5-2 record into Saturday's conference title clash against Cortland, which upset regular season champion Geneseo 6-5 on penalty kicks after a 0-0 tie in the first semifinal. The Cardinals end the year with a 14-3-2 mark. During the shootout period, the teams traded successful PK attempts until the third round when Andrew Fusco gave Plattsburgh a 3-2 edge. But then Brockport made its last three shots and goalkeeper Kyle Sauln stuffed two of the last three tries by the Cardinals to seal the "win." Brockport dominated play during regulation by getting off 17 shots to nine for Plattsburgh, including a 5-1 advantage during the extra sessions. Cardinals goalie John San Filippo, who finished with seven saves for the game, wraps up his four-year career as the school's all-time leader with a 0.40 goals-against average and second with 41 victories.

October 22: SUNY Plattsburgh clinched a first-round bye in the 2008 State University of New York Athletic Conference men's soccer tournament on Wednesday after knocking off Potsdam State 5-1 on the road. With Plattsburgh's fifth straight SUNYAC win, coupled with Brockport's 1-0 loss to Geneseo at home, the Cardinals solidified the No. 2 seed and a spot in the SUNYAC Semifinals on Nov. 7. The Cardinals, who have won their last three SUNYAC road contests by a 15-1 combined score, are now 14-3-1 overall and 7-2-1 to complete league play. The Bears stand at 4-12-2 (0-9 SUNYAC) following their 11th loss in a row. The teams played scoreless until the 38th minute when the Cardinals struck for three goals in a 2 minute and 21 second span. Ryan Ormsby made it 1-0, taking a feed from Nolan Ryan, and then Danny Faiella scored two unassisted goals 45 seconds apart to blow the game open for the visitors. Ryan, a freshman, also scored his first career goal in the 62nd minute for a 4-0 cushion. Tim Parks put Potsdam on the scoreboard in the 79th minute on an assist from Brandon Kelley, wrapping up the scoring summary. Plattsburgh also dominated shots (28-9), corner kicks (8-4) and shots on goal (16-3).
 

North Country Community College's Kenny Rutkowski (11) ties up the ball for a shot against Fulton-Montgomery Community College on Saturday.  Rutkowski delivered another goal for the Saints who won 6-1 to finish the regular season at 11-3-0 overall.  (Photo by Kristin Follette)

NCCC's Liam Gilbert (14) slides across to chip the ball.  He notched two goals and an assist against Fulton-Montgomery.

Ryan Geary (Ogdensburg, NY) scored his eighth goal.

October 29: The North Country Saints season came to an end on Tuesday with a 4-0 loss to SUNY Delhi, the number 3 seed in this year’s Regional Tournament. The game was moved to Herkimer due to the snow storm on Monday night at Delhi that left 3 inches of snow on their field. The game started in difficult conditions. Strong winds and rain turned into snow midway throught the first half. North Country’s best chances came off early corner kicks when they had 2 chances cleared off the goal line. Unable to get a goal in the first half with a slight wind advantage, the Saints knew they would have to be sharp in the second half in order to advance. The second half started on a snow covered field and Delhi would break through 15 minutes into the second half. Anis Makaren scored the first of his three goals off of a counterattack. He would his 2nd and 3rd goals in the next 12 minutes. Kevin Brodie sealed the game for the Broncos on an open net in the 78th minute. The Broncos, 14-2-1 are now in the Regional Semi-Final against Alfred State the #2 seed. “Although it is an odd way for our season to end, I am proud of what the guys accomplished this year. The program has taken a huge leap forward and the sophomores playing in their last game today have had a key role in turning the program around. We will look to build on that going into next season,” said Head Coach Adam Parker.

October 25: In their first regional playoff win since 2002, the North Country Community College Saints weathered early pressure from Adirondack Community College who had several chances. However, the Saints were able to get the first goal of game off of a beautiful volley by Liam Gilbert who also notched an assist in the game. Substitute Kiel Mullen scored eight minutes later when Ryan Geary's cross was headed back across the goal mouth and Mullen finished to give the Saints a 2-0 advantage before the break. In the second half, Adirondack pushing more players forward in an attempt to cut into the Saints lead, but an own goal 18 minutes into the half gave the Saints extra insurance and a 3-0 lead. The final goal by James Flaherty iced the 4-0 victory. Chris Stephenson and Kenny Rutkowski also had assists. Zack Peck made five saves for his ninth shutout of the season. North Country is now 12-3-1. The Saints go on the road to face #3 SUNY Delhi in the regional quarterfinal on Tuesday at Delhi. The winner goes on to Herkimer for the Region 3 Final Four next weekend.

Saints' Forward Kenny Rutkowski (11) guides a shot past a J.C.C. goalie Lucas St. Hilaire (14) for one of his two goals of the game. Ryan Geary (OFA) and Ephriam Farn also scored two goals apiece to lead North Country to a 6-0 shutout over visiting Jefferson C.C.  (Greg Ferguson photo)  Game Gallery

North Country freshman goalie Zach Peck (Chateaugay) smothers the ball ending Jordan Reardan's (9) scoring opportunity for J.C.C. Though temperatures were in the mid 80's, Peck hardly worked up a sweat as JCC mustered just two shots-on-goal in the match.
 

SUNY Potsdam’s Dylan Reed (11) of Ogdensburg, NY heads the ball away before it could get to a Plattsburgh defender.

SUNY Plattsburgh’s Gurtej Dhillon (11) knocks the ball away from SUNY Potsdam’s Brandon Kelley (9) of Lisbon, NY.

October 25: The SUNY Potsdam soccer men were denied a win on Saturday as they closed their season at Morrisville State where they fell 4-3. The Bears now finish with a 4-13-2 overall record and a 0-10 SUNYAC tally. Potsdam’s Billy Sahler (Greenwood Lake/Tuxedo) opened today’s scoring when he connected at 10:28 on an assist from Dominic Frisina (Hammond/Hammond). Morrisville then answered with two first period goals before a John McCloskey (Tully/Tully) penalty kick tied the knot for the Bears at 37:30. The determined Mustangs then came back in the second period to break the tie with two more tallies before Chris Mack added Potsdam’s final goal at 84:58. Goalkeeper Evan Smith (Gansevoort/So. Glen Falls) had 12 saves for the Potsdam loss.

October 22: The SUNY Potsdam men’s soccer team lost to visiting Plattsburgh (14-3-1 overall, 7-3-1 SUNYAC) 5-1 on Senior Night at Potsdam. The lone Potsdam goal was scored by senior Tim Parks (McGraw) at 78:43 with an assist from Brandon Kelley (Lisbon, NY). Danny Faiella (Holbrook/Lake Ronkonkoma Sachem North) scored two goals to lead the Cardinals. Ryan Ormsby (Peru, NY), Danny Byrnes (Hyde Park F.D. Roosevelt), and Nolan Ryan (West Chazy/Chazy) all scored one goal each for Plattsburgh. Plattsburgh had a 28-9 advantage in shots. DJ Martin (Mechanicville/Mechanicville) started in goal for the Bears and made nine saves. Evan Smith (Gansevoort/So. Glen Falls) played 18:15 in the second half and made two saves. John San Filippo (Levittown/Division) had two saves for the Cardinals in 68:59 of time. Patrick Lynch (New Milford, CT/New Milford) came in to play the last 21:01.

SUNY Potsdam goaltender Evan Smith (25) leaps and gets his fingertips on the Geneseo shot, deflecting it just over the net.  The Bears lost to Geneseo 6-1 in SUNYAC play on Saturday. Potsdam’s lone goal came from Matt Rudd (Rodman/South Jefferson) at 51:32 off of a corner kick by John McCloskey.
(Mark VanBibber photo)  Game Gallery

Potsdam goalkeeper Evan Smith (25) muscles his way between two St. Lawrence University attackers to make
a save.  (Dan Bisaccio photo)  Game Gallery
 

Clarkson defender Brett Laudermilch (10) gets back to chip the ball from Potsdam attacker Brandon Kelley (9) from Lisbon.

October 26: Goals in the final five minutes of each half led to the Clarkson University Men’s Soccer team’s demise on Sunday afternoon as Union scored a goal in the waning moments each time for a 2-0 victory over the Golden Knights over at Potsdam’s State Turf Field. The Golden Knights dropped to 5-9-1 overall and finished up the conference schedule at 0-7-0, while Union claimed a spot in the Liberty League playoffs with a 9-3-3 record and 3-2-2 conference slate. After a sloppy day in the rain on Saturday afternoon, it took some time for the two teams to adjust to the quicker track on Potsdam’s turf. While balls skipped on Saturday, they bounded higher and with more truth on the turf. Union got off to a fast start with a few shots in the opening minutes, but the attempts always found their way to the side or over the net. Clarkson responded with a flurry of its own, but two were blocked by the Union defense, and Cale Samuel’s (Mississauga, ONT) attempt from in close was denied by Dutchmen goalkeeper Rob Kramer. It wasn’t until late in the half that Union got on the scoreboard. A misplay near the top of the box gave the Dutchmen a solid scoring chance as substitute John Manna weaved through some defenders and then took a shot that ricocheted off a Clarkson defender and bounded into the back of the net with 4:04 remaining. Chances for both teams were few and far between in the second half as the squads combined for just four shots in the first 40 minutes of the half. Finally, on the third shot of the half for the Dutchmen, Kevan Benn got control of the ball in close and, with Clarkson keeper Mike St. Croix (Watertown, NY) committed to the initial threat in Benn, sent a pass over to Kyle Riter, who was open in front. Union ended the game with a 12-5 lead in shots and the two teams were tied with two corner kicks apiece. St. Croix made three saves for the Knights and Kramer made two stops for Union.

October 25: To call Saturday's venue "slick" would be an understatement and any mistake could prove costly. Skidmore College limited its mistakes and the Clarkson University Men's Soccer team suffered very few as well, but the Thoroughbreds took advantage of one to come away with 1-0 win in Liberty League action at Clarkson Field. The Golden Knights lost their sixth straight league contest to fall to 5-8-1 overall and 0-6-0 in conference play, while Skidmore moved to 10-5-2 and 3-3-0. Clarkson closes out the conference slate on Sunday against Union College. Saturday's contest started off in miserable conditions, as the field was inundated with water prior to the team's arriving for warm ups, and the track didn't improve with intermittent downpours throughout the game. With such a sloppy track, it was difficult for either team to get many quality chances with through balls or intricate passing. With such difficult field conditions, the game appeared likely to either go into overtime scoreless or see a score because of players slipping. The latter proved to be the outcome. While in the midfield, several Clarkson players tried to end an offensive push by the Thoroughbreds, but the field gave out from underneath them and the defense couldn't hold. Skidmore's Diego Reinero took advantage of the opportunity and took a low shot from about 15-20 yards out with under 25 minutes to play for the game's lone goal. Skidmore did finish the game with a 20-7 lead in shots and an 11-2 advantage in cornerkicks, gaining the edge in corners thanks to the outstanding play of Clarkson keeper Mike St. Croix (Watertown, NY), who continually tipped close shots over the goal. St. Croix ended the game with eight saves and Nick Peterson made three stops for the Thoroughbreds.

Clarkson’s Kevin Martens (18) has the ball slide tackled away by Elmira’s Scott McLean (9). A first-half penalty kick produced the game's lone goal in the 19th minute as the Clarkson men’s soccer team beat Elmira College 1-0 in a non-league game Friday afternoon at Clarkson Field.  Sophomore Scott Desmond scored the goal.  (Eric Foote photo)  Game Gallery

Clarkson’s Scott Desmond (2) buries the penalty shot as the Elmira keeper Jon DePrimo guessed the wrong direction.