SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The College of Saint Rose had its outstanding 2021 campaign draw to a close with tonight's 1-0 Northeast-10 Conference Championship Semifinal setback at American International.
The #23 nationally ranked Yellow Jackets (14-3-1) will now visit #4 Franklin Pierce for Saturday's NE10 Championship Final.
This evening's contest was fairly evenly played as the Golden Knights (10-6-2) generated an 11-10 shot advantage, including a 7-3 differential in shots-on-target. However, the Yellow Jackets (14-3-1) scored the game's lone goal when freshman midfielder Salim Yussif finished a feed from sophomore midfielder Frans Dao midway through the second half.
Saint Rose kept its composure though and put itself in position for a fourth straight come-from-behind win.
The Golden Knights gained a penalty kick opportunity with 2:30 remaining in regulation following a hard foul in the box that resulted in an American International yellow card. However, Yellow Jackets keeper Iaonnis Iatroudis, a graduate student, saved the PK attempt to punch his team's ticket to Saturday's date at Franklin Pierce.
Notes: The 2021 edition of the Saint Rose side featured 25 underclassmen…The Golden Knights closed the year by winning nine of their last 11 contests…They tied a school record set in 2019 with their 10 victories and recorded their best ever season in NE10 play, going 8-3-1 and earning the third seed in the postseason tournament…Saint Rose outscored its last 10 opponents 21-10…Sophomore midfielder
Josh Elliott led the team with seven goals, while freshman back
Victor Boje Henriksen had six… Senior midfielder and two-time All-Conference pick
Oskar Aaströem made his school record 71st career start tonight.
Saint Rose in the NE10 Championship Tournament: Saint Rose was making its fifth appearance in the NE10 Championship Tournament, all in the past nine years. The Golden Knights advanced to the 2019 Championship Final as a sixth seed, before falling 2-1 at Assumption. They also qualified for the postseason in 2013, 2015, and 2017. Saint Rose had never been higher than a sixth seed, which they were in 2017 and 2019, prior to this year. The Golden Knights were an eighth seed in 2013 and the seventh seed in 2015.
Four Tabbed NE10 All-Conference: Saint Rose was represented by four student-athletes on the 2021 NE10 All-League Teams, which were announced yesterday. Voting was conducted by the league's 13 head coaches. Aaströem and Henriksen earned second-team accolades, while Elliott and sophomore back
Nick Koenig earned third-team honors. Henriksen was also named to the All-Rookie Team. Aaströem was a second-team pick in 2019, while Koenig grabbed an All-Rookie nod two years ago.
Sign up for our E-Newsletter for the latest news by
clicking here, visit our team store by
clicking here, and for information on the Golden Knights Club,
click here. Follow us on
Twitter,
Facebook, and
Instagram.
