Senior captain
Baker Diaz scored a brace, while fellow senior captain
Nicholas Petrone added a goal and an assist as the No. 7 St. Lawrence University men's soccer team defeated No. 4 seed Skidmore, 4-1, in a Liberty League semifinal on Friday afternoon at Sandy MacAllaster Field.
The top-seeded Saints improved to 11-1-4 and advanced to the Liberty League Championship match for the first time since 2024. St. Lawrence will host the conference title game for the first time since 2022, when the Scarlet and Brown defeated Skidmore, 3-1, on Sandy MacAllaster Field to capture the Liberty League crown.
The Saints wasted little time settling into the match after weathering early pressure from the Thoroughbreds. Sophomore goalkeeper
Zach Amato made saves in the opening nine minutes on attempts from Dylan Moore and Colin Goodhines to keep the match scoreless.
St. Lawrence broke through in the 19th minute.
Kenneth Mejia Lopez had the ball in the midfield and centered a pass over to Petrone. The captain shook a defender and laid in a beautiful pass to Diaz, who put the finish on to take the 1-0 lead.
The assist was the 16th of Petrone's career, moving him within one of the program's top 12 all-time in career assists. It was also Petrone's ninth assist of the season, tying him for seventh in a season in program history.
The Saints continued to press and doubled their advantage in the 33rd minute. Diaz this time collected a long ball from
Jack Greenwood on the backline and feathered a ball to Mejia Lopez on the wing. The sophomore crossed the ball in to Petrone, who finished for his seventh goal of the season and a 2-0 lead.
Just over two minutes later,
Kyle Reddish added to the margin with his second goal of the season, capping a stretch of three St. Lawrence goals in less than 17 minutes and sending the Saints into halftime with a commanding 3-0 advantage.
Skidmore pushed forward in the second half looking for a way back into the match, but Amato and the Saints defense stood firm. The sophomore goalkeeper made three more saves after the break, including stops on Evan Riccelli, Moore, and Goodhines.
The Saints put the match away in the 70th minute when Diaz struck again. This time it was Mejia Lopez, who collected a long pass from
Gustav Scheibler on the left wing. Mejia Lopez collected his second assist of the afternoon, finding Diaz, who found the back of the net for his second goal of the afternoon and a 4-0 advantage.
Skidmore broke up the shutout bid in the 86th minute when Connor Mansfield scored off an assist from Matias Sampedro, but the Thoroughbreds could get no closer as St. Lawrence closed out the 4-1 victory.
Amato finished with five saves, while Skidmore goalkeeper Dante Fierro stopped three shots. The Saints held a 13-11 edge in shots and a 7-6 advantage in shots on goal.
With the win, St. Lawrence advanced to the Liberty League Championship match for the first time since 2024, when the Saints traveled to Vassar and battled to a scoreless draw before falling in penalty kicks.
The Scarlet and Brown will now look to capture their first Liberty League title since 2022 and do so on their home pitch against the very same Brewers in a 1:30 p.m. match.
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