WALTHAM, MASS. - The Saint Anselm men's soccer
team travelled to Waltham, Mass. this afternoon to close out the
regular season against the Bentley University Falcons. On a
cold and rainy day, the Hawks' four-game unbeaten streak came to an
end, as the Falcons netted the only goal of the game in overtime to
claim a 1-0 victory.
The majority of the game was rather uneventful, the two teams
combining for just seven shots-on-goal in the entirety of
regulation. After 90 minutes of scoreless play, the game
headed into overtime. Then, just 2:56 into the first overtime
period, Bill Nussdorfer (Harvard, Mass.)
capitalized on the weather situation, netting a slippery ball that
came loose from the grip of Hawk goalkeeper Eric
Moriarty (Center Harbor, N.H.) to score
the game-winning goal and end the Falcons' season on a high note.
Falcon goalkeeper Michael Nikiforov (Framingham,
Mass.) made three saves in the game. Senior
John Corridan (Holliston, Mass.) had one save in a
scoreless first half, and freshman Eric Moriarty, who took over at
halftime, made three saves and allowed the game-winning goal to get
the loss.
The game puts the Hawks and the Falcons into a three-way tie
with the Assumption College Greyhounds for sixth place in the
Northeast-10 with a 6-5-2 conference record. The Hawks fell
to the Greyhounds 2-1 earlier this season on September 11th, which
gives the Hawks an eighth place finish in the Northeast-10
Conference.
The Hawks will face the number one seed, Southern New Hampshire
University, in the first round of the Northeast-10 Conference
Tournament on Sunday, November 1st. The Penmen (13-2-2,
10-1-2 NE-10) are currently ranked first in the region and eighth
in the nation. However, the Hawks tend to fare better than
most against the strong Southern New Hampshire team. In their
last four meetings, the Hawks are 0-1-3, with final scores of 1-1
(2009), 0-0 (2008), 0-1 (2007), and 0-0 (2006), giving up just two
goals to the Penmen in four contests.
The time for Sunday's game, which will be held at Southern New
Hampshire University's Larkin Field, will be announced after all
eight teams have been properly seeded. When the game time is
set, it will be added the Saint Anselm schedule.
