COLCHESTER, Vt. - Thanks to a pair of goals in the final 8:15, the Saint Michael's College men's soccer team pushed past regionally-ranked Bentley University, 2-0, on Wednesday evening at Duffy Field. With the victory and Saint Anselm College's tie at Southern New Hampshire University, the Purple Knights broke a tie with the Hawks to clinch a spot in the upcoming Northeast-10 Conference Championship for the first time since 2015.
 
The victory was also significant for head coach Wade Jean, who earned his school-record 91st victory with the program, breaking a tie with Les Johnson, while claiming the 200th win of his college coaching career. Saint Michael's downed a Bentley team ranked ninth in this week's United Soccer Coaches East Region poll.
 
The Purple Knights nailed down the seventh and final seed in the NE10 Championship and will visit No. 2 University of New Haven on Saturday for a first-round contest at 5 p.m.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (9-7-1, 4-5 NE10), Bentley (7-5-4, 4-4-1 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior Alessandro Pescina (Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela/Colegio Loyola Gumilla), 1 goal
• Sophomore Ronnie Riby-Williams (Montpelier, Vt./Montpelier), 1 goal
• Senior Jake Manley (Burlington, Vt./Burlington), 1 assist
• Junior Jack Andrews (Beverly, Mass./Bishop Fenwick), 1 assist
• Junior Garrett Smith (Gorham, Maine/Bridgton Academy/Bryant), 1 save

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Graduate student Cam Hall, 7 saves

GAME FACTS

• Now in his 15th year at Saint Michael's (2006-07, 2012-now), Jean is also amid his 26th as a college head coach. He was the winningest coach in the history of the Division I Duquesne University men's soccer program until earlier this fall and also previously guided local JUCO power Champlain College. As a youth, Johnson coached Jean in the Vermont Olympic Development Program.
• Saint Michael's turned in its first nine-win season since 2014 while garnering at least four NE10 victories for the first time in nine years.
• The Purple Knights downed Bentley for the first time since Sept. 30, 2017, as four of the last five games had been decided by a goal or less.
• In his debut season as a Purple Knight, Smith has eight wins, good for a tie for fifth in program history, while his six shutouts are tied for sixth place.

THE ACTION

• Riby-Williams had a trio of golden opportunities in the opening half, beginning with taking the ball from the back line in the 10th minute for a brief breakaway before a defender caught up and blocked a shot.
• In the 17th minute, Riby-Williams corralled a giveaway in the final third and split two defenders but was denied by Hall's kick save.
• In the 29th minute, Riby-Williams again got behind the defense and headed a shot just over the crossbar with Hall bearing down.
• The Purple Knights found themselves with a brief 2-on-0 break in the 32nd minute, with first-year Joey Manley (Burlington, Vt./Vermont Academy) stopped by Hall.
• Bentley nearly broke through in the 42nd minute, but senior Luke Hanchar headed a corner entry pass just over the net.
• A 68th-minute Saint Michael's free kick resulted in a penalty kick being awarded, but Hall dove correctly to his right to deny the bid, keeping the teams level.
• With time winding down on their season, the Purple Knights broke through in the 82nd minute, as Jake Manley drove the endline and passed through the box for Riby-Williams, who tapped in the winner.
• Saint Michael's put the game away in the 86th minute. After Andrews had an initial shot blocked, he gathered the rebound and dropped a pass for Pescina, who went upper 90 from the edge of the box for his team's second goal in a matter of 3:27.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday at New Haven, NE10 Championship first-round game at 5 p.m.