Rodriguez's Clean Sheet, Goduadze’s PK Lifts Men’s Soccer Past Preseason Favorite Sage, 1-0

ALBANY, N.Y. — Freshman Julian Rodriguez (Whitestone, N.Y./Bayside) made 12 saves en route to his first shutout and senior Beka Goduadze's (Tbilisi, Georgia/Lyceum "NK") penalty kick goal in the 58th minute and lifted the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) men's soccer team to a 1-0 triumph over defending Skyline Champion The Sage Colleges on Saturday evening. With the victory, the Bears move into a three-way tie for fourth place in the league standings.

The Basics

• Final Score:  St. Joseph's 1, Sage 0
• Records: St. Joseph's (4-6, 3-2 Skyline), Sage (2-5-3, 1-3-1 Skyline)
• Location: Albany, N.Y. – ACPHS Soccer Field

How It Happened

• The Gators had the better of the scoring opportunities through the opening 45 and nearly scored halfway through the period when a ball was crossed past Julian Rodriguez to a cutting player on the back post with an empty net in front of him, but Gemar Lezeau was able to step in front of the pass. The ball remained loose on the doorstep for several seconds and Sage was able to get off a shot that was blocked and then cleared by the defense.
• Rodriguez made six saves in the opening half to help keep the game scoreless headed to intermission.
• In the 58th minute, the Bears broke through when Thomas Mastoras sent a deep ball through from the SJC end of the field that sprung Antonio Vidal. Trying to beat the last defender, Vidal was taken down at the left corner of the penalty box and the Bears were awarded a penalty kick, which Beka Goduadze calmly converted low left of the keeper for the game-winner.
• The hosts upped the pressure over the final 32 minutes seeking an equalizer and finished with a 15-5 shot discrepancy in the half, but the Bears the defense held strong and Rodriguez came up with six more crucial saves to complete the shutout.

For the Bears

• Goduadze's goal was his team-leading fifth goal of the season and the 23rd of his career. With his fifth career game-winning goal, he is the Bears leader in the category.
• Rodriguez finished with double-digit saves for the second time in his career and posted his first collegiate solo clean sheet.

The Bear Facts

• St. Joseph's levels the all-time series at 1-1. Sage took the first meeting last season by a 7-0 margin.
• Eight of the 10 Bears contests have been decided by two goals or fewer and five have been decided by one goal.
• After going winless last season, under first-year head coach Ovid Cusu the Bears have secured their third league victory and currently sit in playoff position tied for fourth nearing the midway point of the league schedule.
• The Bears were picked to finish last in the 12-team league while the defending champion Gators received five first-place votes and were picked to repeat.

Next up for St. Joseph's

The Bears take a one-game break from Skyline Conference play, returning to Brooklyn to face York College (N.Y.) at Aviator Field in a non-conference road game on Monday, October 3 starting at 6 p.m. Following that game, the Bears will play a crucial stretch of five straight league affairs in an attempt to qualify for their first Skyline Conference Championship.