College of St. Joseph had a busy weekend in sports, highlighted by the men’s soccer team playing in the Yankee Small College Conference Tournament on Oct. 24-25. CSJ was able to make it to the championship game, but unable to come out with the victory. Fighting Saints baseball traveled to Boston, MA to play Fisher College in a nine inning doubleheader on Oct. 25 as well. They played tough, but ended up losing to a talented Fisher squad. Here is a closer look what took place for the Saints over the weekend.
Oct. 24
The College of St. Joseph men’s soccer team beat Unity 2-0 in the YSCC semifinal game. The Fighting Saints were led by the strong play of Patrick Dias, who was able to score two unassisted goals throughout the match for the big playoff victory. CSJ came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, scoring within the first minute of play. Dias had an early breakaway and took advantage, smashing the ball into the back of the net for the quick 1-0 lead. CSJ was also led by the stellar play of Julio Garcia at goalkeeper. Garcia had one of his best games all season, accumulating five big saves to secure the shutout victory. Dias scored his second goal at the 82 minute mark, and the Saints ran away with the victory.
Oct. 25
Saints baseball went up against a very challenging Fisher College team on Sunday in a nine inning doubleheader. The Saints had not been in game action in about two weeks, but in the first game they lost by just one run, 3-2. Both teams points came in the third inning. After a leadoff double by Justin Lemanski, Nestor Velazquez was able to drive Lemanski home with a double of his own. The Saints would take a 2-0 lead, but Fisher was able to capitalize on a few hits and mistakes in the bottom of the inning to take a 3-2 lead they would not surrender.
In the second game, Saints starter Jovan Henriquez got off to a rough start, allowing four runs in the first inning. He would go on to settle down and hand the ball off to Nick Powers; combined, they were able to keep the game level the next 7 innings. The Saints trailed 0-4, but they could just not get anything going offensively. The Saints were able to add a run in the 9th to avoid being shut out, losing 5-1.
The men’s soccer team suffered a tough loss against NHTI in the YSCC championship game. The Fighting Saints struggled to get their offense going, losing the game with a final score of 0-3. CSJ did outshoot NHTI 11-8, but they could not find a way to get the ball past the impressive goalkeeping of Andrew Laprise. CSJ defender Sergio Lopes was named Tournament Defensive Player for his lock down defense and his ability to take the ball away from opposing offensive players. The Saints still have a chance to get a bid into the USCAA tournament due to their stellar 7-1 conference record.
