SCRANTON, Pa. – Freshman James Mayo (Avalon, N.J./Malvern Prep) scored the lone goal of the game in the 26th minute as The University of Scranton men's soccer team (2-1) defeated the SUNY New Paltz Hawks (1-3) by a 1-0 score on Friday night at Weiss Field in Scranton.
Mayo took a feed from junior Nick Suraci (Glenwood Landing, N.Y./North Shore) and laced a shot from the top of the box past diving New Paltz goalie Christian Micheli that gave the Royals a 1-0 edge.
This marked the first meeting between the two programs since a 2-1 Scranton victory in 1998.
Both teams saw scoring chances in the first 17 plus minutes of the game, but Micheli and Royals' junior goalie Charlie Smith (Devon, Pa./Conestoga) each registered saves to keep the game scoreless for the time being. Later in the half with Scranton protecting the one-goal lead, Smith notched consecutive saves in the 41st minute and added one in the final minute to keep the game 1-0 at the break.
Smith denied the Hawks' Samuel Snider in the 55th minute that maintained the 1-0 lead and the Royals nearly extended the lead in the 72nd minute, but sophomore Matt Capretto's (Hockessin, Del./Charter School of Wilmington) attempt was turned away. Scranton was able to limit the Hawks to just two shots over the final 30 plus minutes and notch their second shutout of the young season.
New Paltz held a slight 11-9 edge in shots and Capretto led the Royals with four, while Smith added seven saves for his second clean sheet in as many matches.
The University of Scranton men's soccer team is back in action on Saturday, Sept. 14 at Penn State Abington for a 1 p.m. start.
--ROYALS--
