STANDISH, Maine -- Three different players tallied goals and sophomore goalkeeper Scott Benner (Post Falls, Idaho) stopped four shots as the Saint Joseph's College Monks blanked the University of Southern Maine Huskies, 3-0, in a non-conference men's soccer match Wednesday afternoon at Westerlea Way Field.

            The Monks, now 2-2-1 overall, picked up their second straight victory to climb to the .500 mark for the first time this season.  The Huskies, still in search of their first win, dropped to 0-4-1.

            Saint Joseph's took the lead in the eighth minute of play as senior Zach Johnson (Westbrook, Maine) beat USM freshman goalkeeper Adam Verreault (Poland, Maine) for his first marker of the season.

            Rookie Victor Santos (Framingham, Mass.) doubled the Monks advantage in 29th minute with his first collegiate goal.  The score would remain that way through the final 16 minutes of the opening half.  Saint Joseph's finished the half holding a 10-6 advantage in shots and a 4-0 edge in corner kicks.

            Benner's best stop of the game came when he got down to stop a low drive from sophomore Michael Daniel (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) in the 51st minute.  The shutout was the first of the season for Benner.

            The Huskies had a great opportunity to climb back into the match in the 63rd minute, but sophomore Luke Pugsley's [Kennebunk, Maine/Milton (Mass.)] shot hit the crossbar.

            Senior Fabrice Iraduha (Portland, Maine) put the game away in the 88th minute converting a feed from senior Kyle Shangraw (Westbrook, Maine) into his second goal of the season.

            Verreault and classmate Matthew Willis (Standish, Maine/Bonny Eagle) spilt the goalkeeping duties for the Huskies as each played a half.  Both recorded one save.  Saint Joseph's finished the match with a 15-10 edge in shots and a 6-1 margin in corner kicks.

            Southern Maine will play its home opener this Saturday (3:30 p.m.) hosting Worcester State University as part of doubleheader at Hannaford Field.  Saint Joseph's opens it GNAC (Great Northeast Athletic Conference) slate on Saturday (7:00 p.m.) at Suffolk University. 

-ble-