FAIRFIELD, CT – Call it déjà vu all over again. For the second straight season, Siena Men's Soccer (1-0) opened the regular season against regional foe Sacred Heart (0-1), and for the second straight season, they walked away victorious. A first-half strike was the difference in a 1-0 shutout performance Thursday evening at Park Ave Field in Fairfield, Connecticut.
Siena emerged without a loss against the Pioneers for the eighth straight meeting, and logged a win over the same opponent in consecutive years to start a season for the first time since the pre-varsity 1970 and 1971 Siena teams.
Following a slow start with both teams lobbying for possession, the Saints strung together the deciding score in the 21st minute of play, with sophomore Preseason All-MAAC selection Erik Reis serving a ball from left-to-right to classmate Jesper Schone Vogtengen, who found junior Bilal Hersi in the left corner of the box for the finish.
Following the score, Siena began to gain momentum on both sides of the ball, and nearly completed an insurance goal before the half that was taken off of the board. Despite Sacred Heart holding a 10-9 shot advantage at the conclusion of the match, Siena battened down defensively in the second half, with all three of graduate student goalkeeper Greg Monroe's saves coming in the final 45 minutes of action.
Returning for his fifth season of action in the Green and Gold, Monroe tied a Siena career milestone with his 21st career victory, knotting him with program great Brett Boskiewicz (1991-94) for the most wins by a Saints goalkeeper. The Clifton Park, New York native also moved into a tie for second all-time in career shutouts with his 11th in-goal.
In a physical affair which featured seven combined yellow cards and 35 total fouls, Siena saw nine shots attempted by eight different players, with junior Junior Kone leading the way with a pair. Aside from Monroe, Preseason All-MAAC defender Henrik Winkelmann played in all 90 minutes of action on Siena's back line, which has now helped the team record a non-losing decision in six of its last seven matches dating back to 2021.
In the midst of a stretch of three of its first four contests of the season away from home, the Saints will return to Loudonville for their home opener next Monday. Siena will play host to UMass Lowell and will look to avenge last season's 1-0 overtime loss on Monday, August 29 at 4 PM on Hickey Field.
