The nationally-ranked No. 1 St. Lawrence University men's soccer team extended their shutout streak to eight games on Friday afternoon, as the Saints defeated Union College, ranked 18th in the national polls, by the score of 2-0 at Sandy MacAllaster Field.

St. Lawrence (12-0-0, 5-0-0) picked up its third win of the season over a ranked opponent thanks to a sound 23-7 advantage in shots. Meanwhile, the Dutchmen fall to 10-2-1 (1-2-1), as they struggled to get many offensive chances against the home team's defensive unit.

"The nice thing about today is that we had guys come off the bench and create good scoring chances for us," said St. Lawrence head coach Bob Durocher. "I thought we could've been more patient at times, but guys are seeing opportunities and trying to score."

St. Lawrence controlled the ball throughout much of the first half, outshooting the visitors 11-3. Junior Sam DeMello would give the Scarlet and Brown a 1-0 lead at 24:54, tallying his ninth goal of the season on Union keeper Mike Szczesniak. The Easthampton, MA native ran a beautiful give-and-go with sophomore Andrew Bednarsky, who crossed the ball into the box past a charging Szczesniak to DeMello, who tapped the ball into the empty net.

Union's best chance to tie the score came with just under 1:30 remaining in the first half. A cross from the left side of the field snuck through the Saints' defense to the far post, but Benjamin Golub's header try snuck just wide, keeping St. Lawrence ahead 1-0 at intermission.

The Dutchmen, who were again outshot handedly in the second half (12-4), did have another shot at tying the game when Marc Zeyak took a great ball up the field in one-on-one against St. Lawrence senior netminder Brian Abernethy. Abernethy made a fantastic play on the ball, though, sliding at the top of the box to stuff the scoring chance and keep his team on top.

St. Lawrence, who had two narrow misses on a shot by junior Brian Gilloran and a header by DeMello, would add a key insurance goal at 61:21. First-year student Jamal Samaroo used a quick throw in to spring senior Tyler McCune into the Union box. McCune then chipped a crossing pass to his right where Gilloran was waiting to head the ball under the cross bar, pushing the Saints' cushion to 2-0.

The two-goal margin was plenty for the home team's defense, which did not allow another Union shot on goal in the remaining portion of the game.

The Saints closed with an impressive 14-4 lead in corner kicks. Szczesniak closed with eight saves in the game, while Abernethy made two stops to earn the win.

The Scarlet and Brown will put their unblemished record on the line again tomorrow, Saturday, October 15 when the team hosts Liberty League foe Rensselaer at 2:00pm.