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No. 19 Saints men's soccer shutout Tigers in conference opener

Posted 9/27/15

First-year Tapshak Augustine scored his second goal in as many games and his team-leading fifth of the season in the 42nd minute and Morgan Smith added his first of the season early in the second …

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No. 19 Saints men's soccer shutout Tigers in conference opener

Posted

First-year Tapshak Augustine scored his second goal in as many games and his team-leading fifth of the season in the 42nd minute and Morgan Smith added his first of the season early in the second half to help the No. 19 Saints to a 2-0 win over RIT on Sandy MacAllaster Field.

The Saints, now 7-1-2 overall and 1-0-0 in Liberty League play, earned their fourth straight shutout behind four saves by senior goalkeeper Ryan Roethel, who increased his season shutout total to eight on Saturday afternoon. With the loss, RIT drops to 3-5-0 overall and 0-1-0 in conference matches.

Smith and the Saints had a number of scoring chances early as the Saratoga Springs, N.Y. native hit the inside of the far post on the team's first corner opportunity of the game in the 12th minute and senior Edward Gonzalez sent a rebound shot wide. Smith also rang a direct kick off the crossbar in the 20th minute, as the Saints were unable to convert until late in the half.

Sophomore outside back Kevin O'Neill made a smart play along the end line to keep the ball in play before chipping a long pass over the RIT defense to Augustine at midfield. The Abuja, Nigeria native carried in one-on-one with a Tigers defender before hitting a shot low into the bottom corner on the far side for a 1-0 Saints lead. The assist is the first collegiate point for O'Neill.

Smith pushed the lead to 2-0 off a free kick from 25 yards out following a yellow card to the Tigers' Tristan Scott. Smith and junior Noah Bunton stood over the ball while the Saints set up in the box before Bunton touched it forward for Smith, who hit a hard shot along the ground through traffic that snuck inside the near post and behind sprawling keeper Chris Dill. Dill finished with eight saves for RIT.

Augustine had another breakaway opportunity late in the game, but Dill came out to make the save. On the ensuing rebound, Christian Barral-Arteta rang a shot of the bottom of the crossbar and the Tigers were able to clear to keep the deficit at two.

St. Lawrence finished with a 21-7 edge in total shots and 10-4 advantage in shots on goal, while the defense did not concede a corner kick on the afternoon.

The Saints will continue their conference schedule with road games at Vassar and Bard on Oct. 2 and Oct. 3 at 4 p.m. and 2 p.m.., respectively.