DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica men's soccer team saw its bid for a first MIAC playoff appearance come to an end Saturday with a 5-1 loss to Saint John's at Kenny Harkins Field.
Ben Senich (Duluth, MN/) scored late in the second half off an assist from Parker Chastey (Duluth, MN/Denfeld HS), but the Saints could not overcome a Saint John's attack led by Grady Monette's three goals. St. Scholastica finished the season 7-11-1 overall and 4-5-1 in MIAC play, while the Johnnies improved to 15-2-2 overall and 7-2-1 in the conference.
The Saints generated an early opportunity when Vasco Carneiro (Lisbon, Portugal/) put a shot on target in the sixth minute, but Saint John's goalkeeper Alex Keekley made the save. Monette opened the scoring at 10:46 off a feed from Eli Ryan, and Jacob Oliver extended the lead to 2-0 at 27:41.
St. Scholastica recorded six shots in the opening half but went into the break trailing by two.
Harry Cook (Fareham, England/Henry Cort Community College) tested Keekley early in the second half before the Johnnies pulled away with three goals in a span of 5:21. Monette scored at 52:40, Ryan followed at 54:47, and Monette completed his hat trick at 58:01. Oliver assisted on the first two goals of that stretch.
The Saints got on the board at 82:42 when Senich finished after a saved shot by Chastey, who was credited with the assist. The goal came after Saint John's was reduced to 10 players following a red card to Keekley at 80:55.
Afonso Silva (Lisbon, Portugal/) made three saves in 70:33 of action before Dylan Gies (Stavanger, Norway/) entered and stopped the only shot on goal he faced over the final 19:27. Louis Maerker (Essen, Germany/) led St. Scholastica with two shots.
Saint John's finished with a 23-10 advantage in shots, including a 9-4 edge in shots on goal, and held a 9-3 margin in corner kicks.
