Sept. 14, 2007
Final Stats
Loudonville, N.Y. - Senior forward Thomas Ciovacco (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) notched his first goal of the season in the 86th minute to send the Siena men's soccer team past UMass (2-3-0) this afternoon on Siena Field. The victory marks Siena's (1-2-1) first all-time against the Minutemen in 15 meetings.
The squads battled through a scoreless first half as the defenses stood tall on both ends of the field. They each posted five shot attempts over the first 45 minutes.
UMass attempted to strike first in the second half when forward Price Ofosu got open on the right side and sent a shot on goal only to be collected by Saints freshman goalkeeper Steve Skonieczny (LaGrangeville, N.Y./Arlington). Skonieczny completed the contest with a game-high four saves leading to his first collegiate shutout.
With 85:11 on the clock, senior co-captain Jason Laffin (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes) created a promising scoring opportunity for the Saints. Laffin collected a loose ball in the box and served it up to the open Ciovacco who blasted it into the top left corner to give the Saints a one goal advantage.
Soon thereafter, UMass aggressively attempted to even the score missing a few close opportunities in the box.
The Saints defense stood strong holding the Minutemen off for the remaining minutes to preserve the victory. Senior co-captain Liam Welsh (West Town, N.Y./Minisink Valley) and sophomore defender Kevin Gluchowski (Carmel, N.Y./Mahopac) anchored Siena's superb efforts in the back.
With the victory, the Saints improved to 1-2-1 overall. Siena returns to action on Sunday afternoon where they are set to square off with St. Francis on Siena Field. Game time is slated for 3:30 p.m.
