Men’s Soccer Holds No. 21 Babson to Scoreless Draw 

BOSTON – Thanks to the efforts of senior keepers Alfredo Serrano Figueroa and Tom Bennett and a determined Rams' defense, Suffolk men's soccer kept No. 21 Babson off the scoreboard through two overtimes for a 0-0 tie at Hartwell-Rogers Field Tuesday afternoon. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 0 | No. 21 Babson 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (5-5-1) | No. 21 Babson (6-4-1)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
It took nearly 20 minutes for the first shot to come, which came off Babson's Robert Dunne's boot and fell into Serrano Figueroa's hands. Chances picked up towards the end of the first frame especially for the Beavers. The host tested the Rams' backline with four shots over the last 10 minutes, but none made their way to Serrano Figuero and zeros held at the half.  

The Rams saw their best chance of the day come with just about 29 minutes left in regulation. Brady Sorensen went on a breakaway thanks to a long ball over the top. He pulled Itai Rubin off the line for a nearly open net opportunity, however the sophomore's attempt from the 18-yard line went wide right and the scoreless action stayed put. 

Babson thought it had the go ahead in the 74th minute. Rodrigo Madiedo's thunder cross found a diving Lorenzo Mancini in the lower half of the box. Mancini headed the ball just out of the reach of Bennett, who took over Serrano Figueroa at the half. Just before the celebration began for the Beavers, whistles sounded to signal offsides, which eliminated the goal.  

Suffolk was pressured in the final 10 minutes of the second stanza as Babson held onto possession. During that stretch, the Beavers saw three corner kicks in a row. Fortunately, none of them resulted in a chance on target. 

The blue-and-gold managed to get control with under three minutes to go, but were limited to just one shot by Tommy Handelsman that went wide and a corner kick that came seconds before time expired.  

Each side saw a chance to open overtime. The Beavers' Liam Rhatigan had a 23-yard bending shot that went wide 2:04 into the extra sessions, while Pierre Willis sniped a shot on target at 94:03 that was gobbled up by Rubin to hold things at 0-0. 

Bennett proved to be the hero down the stretch. The senior goalkeeper kept Suffolk alive with a punch dive save on Jack Dugan's shot that went right off the post with 22 seconds left in the first OT. Samuel Kalishman responded with another attempt 19 seconds later, but his try went over the goal as the game headed into the second set of extra time.   

With some of the best looks in all of the game coming in the final minute of the first OT, Babson looked to pick up where it left off. It took four minutes for the first shot to come though and Kalishman's rocket from the 25-yard line was wide. 

Edward Abouzeid came up with a response for the Rams. On a one-on-one with Rubin, the Rams' rookie tried to be the hero, but squibbed his effort wide left instead.  

Babson had one final chance off a corner as Kalishman aimed a pass to the box where Eamon Keenan waited. Keenan jumped at just the right time, but his header was over the cross bar and zeros hung on the board at the end of the 110 minutes of play. 

KEEPING UP WITH THE KEEPERS

• Bennett had five saves in his 65 minutes of work, while Serrano Figuero stopped both attempts he faced. 
• Rubin picked up a pair of saves in the draw.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Babson commanded the pace of the game with a 28-7 shots advantage, which included a 7-2 shots on goal upperhand. 
• The Beavers had nine corner chances compared to the Rams four. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk renewed a rivalry with Babson, meeting for the first time since 2006 and second time overall. 
• The Rams faced their first national ranked opponent since battling then-No. 10/16 St. Joseph's (Maine) Sept. 19, 2018. 
• The blue-and-gold and the Beavers played in overtime for the first time. 
• Suffolk has needed extra time to determine a winner three times this season and in the Bill Maddock era. 
• The blue-and-gold went into double overtime for the first time with Maddock on the sideline and first time since Sept. 14, 2021 when it fell to Albertus Magnus, 2-1, in two overtimes. 
• The Rams are now 1-1-1 when playing in OT in 2021 and under Maddock's guidance. 
• Suffolk played its first draw since a 1-1, double overtime decision at Mass. Maritime Aug. 31, 2019. 
• The scoreless stalemate is the first for Suffolk since a 0-0 draw versus St. Joseph (Conn.) Sept. 22, 2018.  

POST-GAME PIC
  

COMING UP
Suffolk is back in East Boston Saturday, Oct. 9 as it is set to entertain Nichols at 4 p.m. at James A. Sartori Stadium at East Boston Memorial Park.