SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - The American International College men's soccer team suffered a 2-1 Northeast-10 Conference setback against The College of Saint Rose on Saturday, October 30.
FAST FACTS:
Final Score: Saint Rose 2, No. 23 AIC 1
Records: The Golden Knights rise to 8-5-2 with a 7-3-1 NE10 mark; AIC falls to 12-2-1 and 9-2-0 in the NE10
Location: Ronald J. Abdow Field, Springfield, Massachusetts
KEY STATS:
Saint Rose:
Josh Elliott: One goal, one assist
Lucas Malmquist: One goal
Tomas Rozman: Win (6-1-2), five saves
AIC:
Josip Validzic: One goal
David Harper: One assist
Lucas Morales-Fernandez: Loss (12-2-1), seven saves
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- AIC struck first in the 26th minute. Graduate back David Harper launched the ball forward into the right corner of the box, where classmate Josip Validzic fired a shot off the fingertips of Tomas Rozman and into the net at 25:32 for his fifth of the year.
- The Golden Knights responded and tied the game up barely 10 minutes later; a Josh Elliott shot from the top right of the box found the net at 35:35.
- Elliott helped to give the Golden Knights the lead shortly after, swinging a pass into the box for Lucas Malmquist. Malmquist's shot deflected into the net at 43:24, sending the teams to the break with Saint Rose ahead 2-1.
- AIC pushed hard, generating four shots on target in the second half, but could not find an equalizer, falling by that same score.
A HELPING HAND:
- Although AIC did not win the day, some help came from Head Coach Luke Perry's alma mater; Southern Connecticut State University defeated Southern New Hampshire University 2-1 in overtime.
- The SNHU loss means that AIC can do no worse than second place in the NE10, regardless of the remaining results.
- The Yellow Jackets are assured that, should they advance to the NE10 Semifinal, the game would be played at home on Wednesday, November 10.
NEXT UP:
- The NE10 Regular Season Championship is on the line Wednesday, November 3 as the Yellow Jackets visit first-place Franklin Pierce University in the finale of the 2021 regular season.
- AIC is three points back of the Ravens; officially the teams would be co-champions if AIC wins the matchup, but the Yellow Jackets would be the top seed in the NE10 Tournament with a win as they would hold the tiebreaker.