Junior goalkeeper Donato Piroscafo (Naugatuck, Conn.) made seven saves in his second shutout of the season as the Albertus Magnus men's soccer team blanked the defending 2011 GNAC Champion Saint Joseph's College (Maine) 2-0 on Thursday.
Piroscafo, who was tagged as the GNAC's Goalkeeper of the Week on Monday, made some key saves in the Falcons' victory, including a diving stop at the near post on a free kick from just outside the box by the Monks' Zach Johnson. The junior also tallied two saves in a matter of five seconds as he stopped the Monks' second attempt in the 49th minute while he was on the ground after an initial diving save.
Freshman Alex Zapata (Hamden, Conn.) scored the game-winning goal off of a pass by his older brother Stephen Zapata (Hamden, Conn.) in the fifth minute of play. Stephen put a free kick into the box where it found his younger brother, whose one-touch shot beat the Monks' keeper.
After going in the break with a 1-0 lead and a commanding 10-3 shots advantage, the Falcons saw the Monks come out with more pressure in the second half. Saint Joseph's College outshot the Falcons 13-8 in the second 45 minutes but Piroscafo made six stops in the frame to keep his team ahead by one.
Riker Mitchell (Naugatuck, Conn.) gave the Falcons an insurance goal in the 78th minute as he tallied his first goal of the year. Mitchell connected off of a rebound of an initial shot by Nick Hamasian (Hamden, Conn.) and beat Kenny Grade at the far post as Grade was out of position after the save on Hamasian's shot.
With the victory, the Falcons improve to 4-1 on the year and 2-0 in GNAC play, while the Monks fall to 0-3-1 overall and 0-2-0 in league action.
The Falcons will head to Boston on Saturday for their next match as they will face Emerson College at 3:00 p.m. in a league contest.
