STANDISH, Maine - The Monks of Saint Joseph's College scored an early goal and held on to win the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Cadets by a 1-0 final score.

The Monks managed to work the ball deep into Norwich territory early, and with only three minutes of game-time elapsed both teams found themselves fighting for possession within the Norwich goalie box. After a scramble for the ball, Saint Joesph's Cody Elliot found the ball on his foot outside the mass of players and chipped it into the back of an unguarded net for his third goal of the season. 

For the remainder of the game, both teams went back and forth down the pitch with the Cadets desperately trying to create an equalizing goal and the Monks aggressively pushing to score a second goal and put the game well out of reach for Norwich. 

Norwich's best, and only, offensive opportunity came in the 88th minute when the Cadets put together a last-ditch push to tie the game and send it into overtime. Junior Matt Mazzola (Ridgefield, Conn.) gave it a good try from the top of the box, but couldn't find a way past the stifling Saint Joseph's defense. 

Only minutes later Norwich saw the clock run out on the game and their season, as the Monks sealed the championship win and an automatic spot in the NCAA Regional next week. Saint Joseph's took home the GNAC crown for the second year in a row, their fourth title overall (2009, 2011, 2016, 2017). They finished off a truly historic regular and postseason, in which they managed to shut out every opponent they faced. Their 19 game shutout streak extends their NCAA record of consecutive shutouts, a record they broke during the GNAC Semifinals against Regis (Mass.) that stands across all three divisions. 

On the game, the Monks outshot the Cadets 26-1. Brandon Germano (Monroe Township, N.J.) kept the Cadets in the game all day against the Monks' offensive barrage, making a total of 11 saves on the day. The Cadets were also bested on corner kicks, 7-0.

With the loss, Norwich wraps up yet another successful season with an 11-4-5 record overall with a 6-1-4 record in the conference. They reached the conference championship for the second year in a row, as they lost yet another heartbreaker in the GNAC Championship to the Monks last season, a game eventually decided by penalty kicks. 

The Cadets had three members selected to the GNAC All-Tournament Team; Matt Mazzola and Brandon Germano were joined by senior Jeff Purdy (Grantham, N.J.).

Members of the All-Tournament team from Saint Joseph's and Norwich with GNAC Commissioner Joe Walsh post-game.