BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The Monmouth University men's soccer team, ranked #12 in the NSCAA/HendrickCars.com National Top-25 Poll, defeated St. Francis College, 4-0 in Northeast Conference play on Sunday afternoon at the Aviator Sports Complex. With the win, the Hawks run their record to 9-1-2 overall this season, and 3-0-2 in league play, while the Terriers fall to 4-6-2 and 2-3 in the conference.
"I am proud of the team's response today," said MU head coach Robert McCourt. "We have faced some difficult playing conditions away from home this year, so to get a win like this on the road shows tremendous character."
The Blue and White received a pair of goals from senior Hermann Trophy candidate Ryan Kinne (Naugatuck, Conn. /Naugatuck) against SFC, including the match's opening tally in the 17th minute. Junior RJ Allen (Old Bridge, N.J. /St. Joseph's) played a pass into the box where Kinne headed it passed keeper Paul Benkert for the goal.
Five minutes later, junior Matt Beverin (Glen Rock, N.J. /Glen Rock [Louisville]) scored his first goal in a Monmouth uniform, finishing a pass from Max Hamilton (Medford, N.J. /Shawnee). Hamilton logged his second assist of the season on the play.
Just before the half, the combination of Allen and Kinne hooked up again as the defender played a touch pass to the senior, who chipped in his second goal of the match. Kinne now has a team-high nine goals this season, while Allen's two assists now give him three for the year.
The Hawks concluded the match's scoring in the 60th minute when senior captain Chase Barbieri (Hillsborough, N.J. /Hillsborough) scored his second goal of the season, depositing a free kick from Ryan Clark (Freehold, N.J. /Freehold Township) into the back of the net. Clark's assist is his team-high fourth of the season.
MU keeper and Hermann Trophy candidate Bryan Meredith (Scotch Plains, N.J. /Scotch Plains-Fanwood) made three saves for his seventh shutout of the season.
St. Francis College outshot MU, 13-11, and had eight corners compared to two for the Hawks.
The Hawks were able to dominate the action today despite playing on a converted football field at the Aviator Sports Complex. This comes on the heels of earning a hard-fought point at Long Island's notoriously difficult field on Friday. Earlier this season, Monmouth defeated Central Connecticut State on October 3rd on Arute Field, the Blue Devils' football field.
Monmouth University returns to action on Sunday, October 24th when it hosts Bryant at 1:00 pm on The Great Lawn.
