Senior
Nicholas Petrone recorded a pair of assists, while
Baker Diaz and
Cam Moyers each found the back of the net as the No. 12 St. Lawrence men's soccer team defeated Neumann, 2-1, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Pickard Field in Brunswick, Maine.
The Saints improved to 12-2-4 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, while the Knights concluded their season with a 14-4-2 record.
St. Lawrence controlled play early and generated several dangerous chances in the opening half.
Nicholas Petrone tested goalkeeper Seiya Sato in the sixth minute, while
Kenneth Mejia Lopez and
Dennis Argueta each generated scoring opportunities as the Saints looked for the breakthrough.
The opening goal finally came in the 31st minute.
Following a corner kick, Petrone delivered the ball into the danger area, where senior captain
Baker Diaz found space and buried the finish for a 1-0 St. Lawrence advantage. The goal was Diaz's sixth of the season, while Petrone recorded his first assist of the afternoon.
The Saints continued to apply pressure for the remainder of the half and carried the one-goal lead into the break after holding an 8-4 edge in shots over the opening 45 minutes.
Neumann responded early in the second half and found the equalizer in the 52nd minute. Jordan Illian finished a chance off a feed from Luke Mejia to even the score at 1-1.
The Knights continued to press after the goal and forced several saves from sophomore goalkeeper
Zach Amato, who finished with four stops on the afternoon. Amato denied chances from Illian and Mejia to keep the match level.
The Scarlet and Brown answered with sustained pressure of their own and nearly regained the lead through
Grant Gilmer,
Juliano Masella, and
Eric Edmonds, but Sato kept the match tied with a series of saves.
St. Lawrence finally found the winner in the 77th minute. Petrone once again played provider, setting up
Cam Moyers, who buried the rebound for the go-ahead goal to restore the Saints' lead at 2-1. Moyers' goal was the first of his career, while the assist was Petrone's second of the day and his 11th assist of the season.
His 11th assist of the season puts the captain in rarefied air, tying Jamal Ballantyne '02's 1999 total for the third-most assists in a single season in program history. He now sits just one assist behind Miles Levy '23 for second all-time on the single-season list and six shy of Ballantyne's program-record 17 assists set in 2001. His 18 career assists also move him into a tie for 12th place on the program's all-time assists leaderboard.
The Saints held firm over the final 13 minutes to secure the NCAA Tournament victory and punch their ticket to the second round.
Amato finished with four saves in the win, while Sato made five stops for Neumann. St. Lawrence held advantages in shots (15-10), shots on goal (7-5), and corner kicks (5-5).
With the win, the Saints advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament tomorrow, where they will take on the host team, No. 16 Bowdoin, in a 1 p.m. match.
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