Two first-half goals by the Zapata brothers led the Albertus Magnus men's soccer team to a 2-0 shutout over Suffolk University on Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the 2012 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tournament. The Falcons will now advance to the semifinals where they will face Emerson College.
The GNAC semifinal match-up is currently scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in New Haven. Emerson used a 3-0 upset victory over third-seeded Saint Joseph's College of Maine to move on to face the Falcons.
In today's Albertus victory, freshman Alex Zapata (Hamden, Conn.) tallied his ninth goal of the year and the match's eventual game winner as he beat two defenders to a long ball in the box and used a chip shot to score as the Suffolk keeper came out of the six-yard box.
James Lucchesi (Norwalk, Conn.) sent the pass into the 18-yard box from midfield and earned his fourth assist on the year.
Stephen Zapata (Hamden, Conn.) extended the Falcons' lead to 2-0 as he drilled a penalty kick into the back of the net in the 22nd minute of play.
The Falcons outshot Suffolk 19-11 on the afternoon, including a 12-5 clip in the first half. Donato Piroscafo (Naugatuck, Conn.) earned the win, his 14th of the year, as he picked up two saves on the only two shots on goal for the Rams.
Suffolk's keeper, Nicholas Chamma, registered eight saves and allowed two goals in 90 minutes of work.
Albertus also held an 8-2 advantage in corner kicks.
With the victory, Albertus improves to 14-3-2 on the year, while Suffolk finishes its season at 7-10-1. The Falcons now advance to the semifinals of the GNAC Tournament for the third-straight year. In their previous meeting in 2012, the Falcons defeated Emerson 4-2 in Boston on Sept. 15.
The winner of the semifinal match will play in the GNAC Championship game on Saturday, Nov. 3 at the site of the highest remaining seed in the tournament.
