Men's Soccer Drops Season Opener to St. Joseph's (ME)
Standish, ME - Despite playing a man down for 48 minutes, Saint Joseph's (1-0) eked out a 2-0 victory over reigning Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) champion Framingham State (0-1) in both teams 2009 opener at Westerlea Way Field on Tuesday afternoon.
Doug MacCallum (Hingham, MA) scored the eventual game-winner on a play set up by Jack LaFreniere (Alton, NH) in the 77th minute and notched an assist eight minutes later on Paul Robins (Cornwall, England) first tally of the season. SJC keeper Will Pike (Gorham, ME) made four stops in goal to collect his ninth career shutout. With the win, St. Joe's Head Coach Steve Babineau posted the first victory of his collegiate coaching career.
The first half yielded few scoring chances for either club with most of the action occurring at midfield. Framingham keeper Greg Halle (Beverly, MA) made a slick diving save to deny SJC freshman Matt Barlion (Auburn, ME) of his first collegiate goal in the 34th minute.
Eight minutes after Barlion's attempt, St. Joe's suffered a major blow when back Greg Cavanaugh (Haverhill, MA) was whistled for his second yellow card of the game, which meant he was lost for the remainder of the contest and the Monks would play the last 48 minutes a man short.
The Rams had two quality scoring opportunities early in the second half, both of which were turned away by Pike. The first chance came in the 56th minute when Scott Faria (Fall Rivier, MA) collected the ball off a corner on the left side of the net, but his point-blank blast was gathered by Pike to keep the game scoreless. Just under 10 minutes later, Framingham midfielder Erick Nader (Framingham, MA) was denied a short breakaway opportunity by Pike, who deflected Nader's strike over the top of the net.
After the save, a quick transition downfield by St. Joe's nearly put the Royal Blue on top at the 65:15 mark. Barlion was the culprit again as he gained control of the ball alone in front of the net, but his attempt was blocked by Halle as the game remained scoreless.
Eleven minutes later St. Joe's broke the deadlock when LaFreniere drove the length of the field on the right side, sped around a defender and dealt a perfect pass to MacCallum, who drilled the ball past a sprawling Halle to put his team up 1-0.
Robins netted his first marker of the year at the 84:52 mark to give his team a 2-0 cushion. After a rush to the net, a scramble for a loose ball ensued. MacCallum collected the ball 10 yards in front of the Framingham goal and dished a pass to Robins, who one-timed it into the bottom left corner to cap the game scoring.
For the Rams, Halle made two saves and Nader steered two shots on net. The physical contest featured 17 player fouls and five yellow cards.
MacCallum's three-point afternoon gave him 63 career points, which puts him atop the Saint Joseph's career scoring list. Michael Herrick '01 previously held the mark with 61 points. MacCallum entered the 2009 campaign as the all-time leader in goals as well.
Saint Joseph's will travel to Patchogue, NY to take on St. Joseph's (NY) on Friday, September 5th at 2:00 p.m. Framingham State will host Curry College on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
Story courtesy of St. Joseph's Sports Information Office.