This week in Suffolk University sports: Men’s soccer falls in championship thriller, women’s soccer knocked out of playoffs in semifinals, men’s hockey dominates conference competition and basketball seasons begin with wins abound.
Men’s soccer falls in championship heartbreaker
Men’s soccer took on Roger Williams University in the Conference of New England championship game Nov. 8, the third time in four years the two sides have met in the championship game.
The game was tied 1-1 at halftime after Max Patenaude scored for the Hawks and Francisco Valck had a penalty kick goal for the Rams. The game remained deadlocked through regulation and two overtimes, forcing penalty kicks to decide the championship for the second year in a row.
Entering the fifth round of penalty kicks, it was tied 3-3. Jorge Beltran beat the outstretched gloves of Carter Sewell to put the Hawks ahead, and Valck’s shot was denied by Eliot Panaccione to secure the championship victory for Roger Williams.
Women’s soccer knocked out in penalty kicks
Like the men’s team, women’s soccer also saw the season come to an end in penalty kicks. The CNE semifinal matchup against Endicott College was tied 0-0 through the 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of double overtime play.
Suffolk was ahead 3-2 after round four of penalty kicks when Avery Porter’s shot in round five was denied by Samantha MacCormack, preventing the Rams from clinching a win. In round six, Olivia Pardo scored for Endicott and Scarlett D’Amico’s shot sailed high for Suffolk to hand the Gulls a win and a berth in the CNE championship game.
Volleyball falls short of playoff spot
Volleyball’s last match of the regular season was a road tilt with Western New England University Nov. 5, with the Rams sweeping the Golden Bears 3-0.
Set scores were 25-19, 26-24 and 25-22 in favor of the Rams as Chloe Clement led the way in kills with nine and digs with 12. Grace Cervenka was responsible for three service aces and Aislinn Lanigan added 15 assists to her career statline.
Despite the win, Suffolk needed some help from the University of New England to make the playoffs. The Nor’Easters, taking on the University of Hartford Nov. 8, needed to lose for the Rams to slip into the playoffs as the six seed. The Nor’Easters instead swept the Hawks 3-0 to get the win and end Suffolk’s season, clinching a playoff spot for themselves too.
Men’s hockey dominates conference opponents
Men’s hockey faced the brand new Roger Williams hockey program Nov. 7, cruising past the Hawks 4-1 to get their first win of the season.
The game was tied 1-1 after the 11:24 mark of the first period, thanks to a power play goal by Suffolk’s Quinn Booth and an even-strength goal by Jon Alger of Roger Williams. Nolan Leonard’s third goal of the season at the 14:21 mark of the period gave Suffolk a 2-1 advantage.
After a scoreless second period, Marko Giourof and Aidan O’Connell added goals for the Rams in the third period to help secure the conference victory. Austin McNicholas picked up his first collegiate win with a nine-save game.
The next day brought another CNE matchup, as Suffolk hosted the Wentworth Institute of Technology at Porrazzo Rink.
Two power play goals, one shorthanded goal and a hat trick from Daniel McKiernan were the tools Suffolk needed in a dominating 5-0 win over the Leopards to keep Suffolk undefeated in CNE play. The Rams outshot the Leopards 39-15 as McNicholas picked up his first collegiate shutout a day after getting his first win.
Women’s hockey splits opening weekend
Opening the season against Curry College Nov. 7, women’s hockey wound up on the wrong side of a 6-3 final score against the Colonels.
Suffolk ended the first period down 2-1 before Laurel Potter’s second-period goal made it 2-2 after 40 minutes. The Colonels scored just 1:15 into the third period and outscored the Rams 4-1 in the final 20 minutes to walk away with a three goal win.
The next day, goals by Potter and Bella Schmidt for the Rams, plus Darby Marshall and Morgan Slough for Curry, made it a 2-2 game after both regulation and overtime. It took six rounds of a shootout to decide who would get the extra point, and thanks to Talia Stein-Trujillo, it was the Rams. Katelyn Michals made 43 saves to keep Suffolk in the game all night.
Men’s basketball opens season with road win
Men’s basketball began the new season with a road matchup against Maine-Farmington Nov. 8, a close game that ended with a 75-72 victory for the Rams.
Freshmen Marquis White and James Jones, both in starting roles in their collegiate debuts, contributed 15 and 20 points, respectively, for the Rams as Jones was one rebound away from a double-double while leading the team in points.
Nick Verdile was the most productive returning player on the day, scoring 14 points on 2-for-8 shooting from three and 4-for-13 on field goal attempts. He also pitched in four rebounds and seven assists.
Women’s basketball rolls to two early wins
Opening the season Nov. 7 against Rivier University, women’s basketball picked up a 75-64 win over the Raiders to begin the year 1-0.
Suffolk held Rivier to just six points in the second quarter and outscored the Raiders in all but the fourth quarter to emerge with the 11-point win. Allison Bono led the Rams in points and rebounds with 17 and eight, respectively. Jordan Moreau and Olivia Verdile also were in double figures for points, with Moreau scoring 12 and Verdile 11.
Against Baruch College Nov. 9, the Rams rode a 31-point first quarter to a dominating 81-52 win. Suffolk outscored Baruch 31-8 in the first quarter and 17-10 in the second quarter to take a 30-point lead into halftime.
Verdile had a big game for the Rams, leading the team with 21 points and five made threes to go with four rebounds and a pair of assists. Ava Thurman picked up five rebounds to go with 10 points, with Moreau chipping in 17 points and Tatiana Tune adding 11 off the bench.
