Men’s Soccer Forces Scoreless Draw with No. 1 Amherst

EAST BOSTON – The Suffolk men's soccer team battled the reigning NCAA Division III National Champion, No. 1 Amherst to a scoreless draw Tuesday night at James A. Sartori Stadium at East Boston Memorial Park.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 0 | No. 1 Amherst 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (0-1-1) | No. 1 Amherst (0-0-1)  

HOW IT HAPPENED

• A foul by Amherst in the first four minutes set-up a free kick for the Rams at Mammoth's 10-yard line on the right-hand side of the turf. Dylan Trachtenberg's attempt flew high towards the net and forced Trey Sheppard to make a jump punch-save that sailed inches over the cross bar to keep Suffolk scoreless. 
• Diego Pierantozzi had a beautiful attempt with just over seven minutes left on the clock in the first frame. The senior sent a kick from the 20-yard line towards Sheppard that rocketed just right and zeros remained. 
• The blue-and-gold's backline limited Amherst in the first 45 minutes. The Mammoths managed to get six shots off with only one getting through to Ian Caldwell. The sophomore's gloves stopped the shot and both teams went into the locker room scoreless. 
• Caldwell came up big down the stretch with a pair of saves in a two-minute span with just under 30 minutes to left on the clock in the second stanza. First, Suffolk's sophomore made a diving save on a Riley Priddy breakaway, before he denied a high free kick off Mohammed Nuhu's boot.  
• Things got interesting inside the 70th minute as Sam Davis fired a sniper towards the cage. Caldwell was a step away from it and thankfully for the blue-and-gold the shot ricocheted off the post and zeroes remained on the scoreboard. 
• Amherst had one final shot to break onto the board. A corner kick with less than two minutes to play in regulation was quickly kicked out to Jacob Dinzeo, who found Jacob Lahlou., who wasted no time for a header. 
• The excitement would not end there as Suffolk looked to put an exclamation point on the contest. Mohamed Mehaya and Christian Gardner went on a 2-on-1 with 30 seconds on the clock. The give-and-go set-up a perfect 1-on-1 for Mehaya. Nerves caught up to the freshman, however, as his wide open shot in front of Sheppard went just high and the tilt ended in a tie.

KEEPING UP WITH THE KEEPERS

• Caldwell made three saves in the draw. 
• Sheppard had three saves to his credit as well.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Suffolk had six shots, three on target. 
• Mehaya had three shots, one on net. 
• Giammattei and Trachtenberg both put one shot on target as well. 
• Amherst registered 14 shots, three on net. 
• The Mammoths had five corner kicks compared to Suffolk's one.  

NOTEWORTHY

• The Rams played against a nationally ranked foe for the first time since Oct. 8, 2024, when it took on then-No. 11 Babson. 
• The Rams did not concede a goal against a nationally ranked foe for the first time since they shut out then-No. 23 Endicott in the conference semifinals, 2-0, Nov. 2, 2022. 
• Suffolk hosted Amherst for the first time since Sept. 21, 2008. 
• Suffolk held Amherst scoreless in an outing for the first time in program history.
• The Rams moved to 0-2-1 all-time versus the Mammoths. 
• Suffolk improved to 0-1-1 against Amherst under Bill Maddock's guidance. 
• It is the first time in program history that Suffolk played to a scoreless tie against a NESCAC program.
• Tonight's decision is the first tie for Suffolk since it played to a 1-all draw versus Roger Williams in the CNE Championship Nov. 9, 2024. 
• It is the first 0-0 draw for the Rams since Sept. 1, 2024 at Brandeis. 
• Caldwell registered his first collegiate shutout.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk heads back on the road Saturday, Sept. 6 when it travels to Husson for a 3:00 p.m. kick-off.