ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – The Bonnies (4-11, 2-3) hit the road this weekend for an important duo of games with Atlantic 10 Tournament implications. SBU will first travel to UMass (5-7-2, 2-3) for a date with the Minutemen on Friday. From there the Bonnies will head to Rhode Island (2-9-3, 1-3-1) to take on the Rams on Sunday.
St. Bonaventure had one win and one loss at home last weekend. On Friday (Oct. 19) juniors Emmett O'Connor and Brad Vanino carried the Bonnies' offense to a 3-0 victory over the Dayton Flyers. O'Connor would net two goals, both assisted by Vanino, and register one assist, on a goal scored by Vanino.
O'Connor currently sits third on the all-time assists list with 19. The all-time career record is 22 assists set by Wally Senk in 1998. The Ajax, Ontario native has already matched his assist total from last season with six.
On Sunday (Oct. 21) the Bonnies welcomed nationally ranked Xavier. SBU would jump out to a 1-0 lead early thanks to a James Reed hustle play that resulted in his second score of the season. The lead would not last however as the Musketeers were able to knot the score by halftime and take a lead late in the second half to secure the 2-1 victory.
UMass split their slate of games last weekend as well. The Minutemen traveled to Charlotte on Friday but came away with a 4-0 loss at the hands of the 49ers. On Sunday UMass rebounded to defeat George Washington on the road 3-0. UMass is lead by Josh Schwartz who boasts five goals and two assists. Matt Keys has put away three goals while Brett Canepa and Connor Devivo each have two assists. Brian Frame has started all 14 games in net for the Minutemen. Frame has posted five shutouts and has a .774 save percentage.
The Rams of Rhode Island are currently on a three game losing streak heading into their Friday matchup with Duquesne. Sophomore Mike Casey leads the way for the Rams with five goals and three assists. The Rams have split time at goalkeeper this year between freshman Thomas Spenser and junior Adam Blanchard. Spenser is 1-7-2 with a 2.17 goals against average and a .750 save percentage Blanchard is 1-2-1 with a 2.16 goals against average and a .677 save percentage.
The Bonnies and UMass battled to a 0-0 tie following two overtimes last season. SBU lost to Rhode Island 2-1 also at home. Kaine Moar scored the lone goal for the Bonnies that day.
SBU currently sits in 11th place in the conference needing to be in the top eight to advance to the Atlantic 10 Tournament in Charlotte. Just one point separates the Bonnies from that eighth and final spot. The final four games of the regular season will be critical if the Bonnies wish to return to the A-10 Tournament for the first time since 2010.
Kickoff on Friday is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. from Rudd Field. On Sunday the Bonnies will kick off with the Rams at 1:00 p.m. at the URI Soccer Complex.
SBU will wrap up the regular season at home next weekend as the Brown and White will welcome La Salle and Fordham to McGraw-Jennings Field. Both La Salle and Fordham are also on the outside looking in at this stage of conference play.
