Oct. 27, 2012
Box Score
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - For a third straight year, Siena Men's Soccer is heading to the MAAC Championships. Sindre Ek and Falko Friedrichs each tallied three points as the Saints clinched a conference tournament berth with a 3-1 win over Marist on Senior Day. With the victory, Siena sets a program record with their seventh straight home win.
Siena (10-6, 6-1) also reached double figures in wins for just the third time in program history in what was a special afternoon all-around. With two matches still remaining on the regular season schedule, the Saints can already make travel plans for Poughkeepsie, N.Y. - sight of next month's MAAC Championships.
Ek and Friedrichs scored just 1:24 apart over the final three minutes of the first half as Siena surged to a 2-0 lead heading into intermission. Ek finished a beautifully played cross from the right from Nathan Olukanmi, while Friedrichs headed in a pass from James Beeston.
Ek picked up a secondary assist on the Friedrichs goal giving the MAAC's leading scorer 29 points for the season. With another huge performance, the senior striker moved into a tie for fifth place on the program's all-time scoring list with 54 career points and a tie for third in goals with 22.
Marist (5-10-1, 1-6) made things interesting late as Dylan Lee scored off a header to cut the Saints lead to 2-1 with 18 minutes remaining. But Siena was not about to see their Senior Day spoiled.
Senior Daniel Alderstad put the icing on the cake with an insurance tally in the 83rd minute. Beeston sent in a cross from the right that was headed by Friedrichs right to Alderstad who in turn headed it into the back of the net.
Damian Liesemann added four saves in goal for the Saints which have won four in a row at home against Marist, outscoring their conference rivals 16-3 in those matches.
More importantly, the win kept the Saints even with Loyola for first place in the MAAC heading into the final week of regular season action next weekend. With a chance to tie a program record with their 11th win of the season, the Saints travel to Iona for a 3 p.m. kickoff Friday.
