Leo Powers Men’s Soccer Past Curry on Senior Day, #RamsFanFest, 2-0

EAST BOSTON – Behind graduate student Nigel Leo's pair of goals, Suffolk men's soccer brought down Curry 2-0 in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Saturday afternoon at James A. Sartori Stadium at East Boston Memorial Park.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 2 | Salve Regina 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (8-7-1, 4-4-0 CCC) | Curry (9-5-3, 4-3-1 CCC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk controlled much of the early action in the opening frame, but it was not until the 26th minute that the host got on the board. Nigel Leo made the most of a feed from Miguel Varela, powering a left-footed strike past Kyle Tremblay to give the Rams a 1-0 lead. 

Less than four minutes later, the duo of Varela and Leo combined yet again to cushion the Suffolk lead. Off of a deep throw in from Edward Abouzeid, Varela tapped the ball into space where a sprinting Leo picked it up just 10 yards out from the cage and once again beat the keeper. Leo's second goal of the day made it a 2-0 game. 

Senior goaltender Tom Bennett was up to the task on the one shot seen towards the end of the frame. Up 2-0 at the half, the Rams made a goalie switch to Bennett's classmate Alfredo Serrano Figueroa. 

Despite strong offensive chances from both teams, no goals were allowed in the final 45 minutes to solidify the Rams' victory.

KEEPING UP WITH THE KEEPERS

• Bennett made one stop in the first half to advance his record to 2-1-0 on the year.
• Serrano Figueroa came up big on three shots on goal in the second frame to secure the combined shutout.
• Tremblay fell to 8-5-3 on the season after stopping just a third of the three shots on goal. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• The Leo, Varela tandem sparked and accounted for Suffolk's two-goal offense. The former scored both tallies, while the latter set each of them up. 
• Curry led shots, 12-9, and had an edge in shots on target, 4-3. 
• The Colonels had a 6-2 corner kick advantage as well.

NOTEWORTHY

• The 2-0 victory marked the seventh clean sheet this year and in the Bill Maddock era
• Suffolk now leads the series 4-1 over the Colonels after their first matchup since September 25, 2011.
• The Rams are unbeaten in Boston against Curry, now 3-0-0.
• With this shutout, there has now been a pair of cleansheets between Suffolk and Curry, both of which the Rams won. In addition to Saturday's shutout, the blue-and-gold captured a 3-0 cleansheet in the series opener, Oct. 3, 2002. 
• Leo's two goals marked his 10th and 11th of the season, respectively. 
• Varela now has four assists to his credit in his collegiate career. 
• Prior to first kick Suffolk honored the playing careers of its Classes of 2021 and 2022. 

POST-GAME PIC
  

COMING UP
Suffolk wraps up its regular-season slate on the road at Roger Williams on Tuesday, Oct. 26 at 4 p.m.