NEWBURGH, NY – It started with a shot hitting the right post in the opening five minutes. Two minutes later, a shot hit the crossbar. Thirty minutes in, another post. All afternoon, the breaks went against Mount Saint Mary College during a 4-0 loss to St. Joseph's College on Saturday. The Blue Knights dropped to 9-8 on the year and into third place in the Skyline Conference with a mark of 7-2. The Golden Eagles bumped to 9-8-2 and to 7-1-1 in the conference.

The Blue Knights dominated the opening thirty minutes of the game despite allowing a St. Joseph's goal in the 10th minute. Right out of the gates, senior Nick Morse (New Milford, Conn.) released a shot from the top of the box that hit the post before being cleared by a Golden Eagle defender. In the 7th minute, senior Francis Amarteifio (Accra, Ghana) hit a perfect strike from the right side that knuckled its way past the keeper before hitting the crossbar and bouncing away harmlessly. After winning the ball in the box in the 31st minute, senior Andy Espinoza (Mount Kisco, N.Y.) trickled a shot towards the net that hit the post and bounced away.

St. Joseph's got on the board in the 10th minute when senior Frank Mancuso (Ridge, N.Y.) put home a cross from freshman Scott Reduto (St. James, N.Y.). The Golden Eagles made the score 2-0 in the 35th minute as sophomore Bobby Manning (Bayport, N.Y.) found the back of the net. With a free kick on the left side, freshman Julian Barreiros (West Babylon, N.Y.) passed to Manning who beat the keeper from inside the box.

Manning scored again in the 62nd minute on almost the same exact play, this time taking a free kick pass from K.J. LaBarbera (Miller Place, N.Y.) before putting it in the net. The Golden Eagles picked up a fourth goal at the eighty minute mark as Barreiros launched a perfect shot from 25 yards away.

The Blue Knights actually outshot St. Joseph's for the game, 14-11. Junior goalkeeper Mike Dougherty (Farmingville, N.Y.) made seven saves to preserve the shutout for the visitors.

With today's loss, Mount Saint Mary will qualify as the third seed in the Skyline Conference tournament. They will host #6 Maritime College on Tuesday, November 4 at a time to be determined. Information about the playoffs will be posted to the website as soon as it is made available.