MANCHESTER, N.H. – An American International goal in the 79th minute proved the difference Friday afternoon, as the Saint Anselm men's soccer team dropped a 1-0 Senior Day decision at Melucci Field.
Saint Anselm (5-11, 4-9 Northeast-10), which needed a win to remain in the hunt for a Northeast-10 Championship tournament bid, was eliminated from playoff contention with today's loss.
The ball simply wasn't bouncing the right ways for the Hawks, as they missed target by mere inches on several opportunities throughout the game. Sophomore Zachary Heckt (South Windsor, Conn.) brought some energy off the bench for the Hawks and with heightened intent to score. He would end up leading the Hawks with six shots for the game, putting two rockets on-goal that were saved by the AIC goalkeeper.
The Yellow Jackets outshot Saint Anselm 9-4 in the first half and put six shots on-goal, all of which senior goalkeeper Bret Macko (Bolton, Mass.) saved.
Saint Anselm was the more attacking team in the second stanza as junior Sean Smith (Hampstead, N.H.) nearly put one away right after the halftime break. Smith found a rolling cross near the top of the box and beat the screened goalkeeper, only to have a Yellow Jacket defender slide in to make a team save on the goal line and preserve the 0-0 tie.
A perfectly struck topspin bender from AIC with less than 12 minutes remaining put the Jackets up 1-0. Yet the Hawks responded with a barrage of shots in the closing minutes to put the pressure on late. Saint Anselm took four corner kicks over the final 6:33 and took four shots—including a handful of deep headers that just strayed high—yet couldn't quite find the equalizer.
Four seniors were also recognized prior to Friday's game, including Macko, Ronan O'Callaghan (Weymouth, Mass.), Emmett Schaeffer (North Franklin, Conn.) and captain Chad Dakin (Wilbraham, Mass.).
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