Sophomore goalkeeper
Zach Amato made eight saves and recorded his seventh clean sheet of the season as the No. 4 St. Lawrence University men's soccer team played RPI to a scoreless draw on Saturday afternoon in Liberty League action at Sandy MacAllaster Field in Canton, N.Y.
The Saints moved to 10-0-4 overall and 5-0-3 in Liberty League play, while the Engineers moved to 6-5-4 overall and 3-1-3 in conference action.
With the tie and results around the league, the Saints have clinched a top-two seed in next week's Liberty League playoffs.
"A gritty performance from the team today; we had a lot of the ball and some good moments," said head coach
Mike Toshack. "I'm really excited about the performance of some of the players that came to fill in this week after the team was hit hard with some illnesses. We had some people come in that did a really good job and some people that came back to the team and recovered to put in 90 minutes. We had to dig deep in that game to show a lot of what we had; it was a good character game for us today. We bent a little, but we didn't break, and we look forward to Union next week. RPI is always a tough opponent, with one of the most experienced and best coaches in the country, Adam Clinton, so it is always going to be a tough match with them."
St. Lawrence controlled much of the first half and generated eight shots while holding RPI to just one attempt.
Dennis Argueta,
Baker Diaz,
Sammy Bothwell,
Kenneth Mejia Lopez, and
Nicholas Petrone all generated chances, but RPI goalkeeper Noah Churchill kept the Scarlet and Brown off the board with a pair of saves.
The Saints' best opportunities came late in the half. Bothwell forced a save in the 35th minute, and Mejia Lopez tested Churchill again just before halftime, but the match remained scoreless through 45 minutes.
RPI found more of the game after the break and began to apply pressure in the attacking third.
Amato was called into action early in the second half, making saves on Justin Woodbine and Harrison Brownlow to preserve the deadlock.
Brownlow continued to be dangerous for the visitors, but Amato repeatedly came up with answers, making a series of saves throughout the second half as the Engineers finished with eight shots on goal.
St. Lawrence nearly broke through in the 72nd minute when
Jack Buyers put a shot on frame, but Churchill made the stop to keep the match level.
The Engineers continued to push in the closing minutes, but Amato turned aside attempts from Sam Shmukler and Brownlow in the final 10 minutes to secure the clean sheet and the point for the Saints.
Amato finished with eight saves, while Churchill stopped all three shots on goal he faced.
St. Lawrence held a 12-10 edge in shots, while RPI owned an 8-3 advantage in shots on goal. The Saints earned four corner kicks, while the Engineers had two.
The Scarlet and Brown will head to Schenectady, N.Y. for their final regular season match. The team will take on Union on Saturday, October 31, in a 2 p.m. match, looking to secure the regular season Liberty League title.
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