Riverdale, N.Y. – The College of Mount Saint Vincent Men's Soccer team picked up an important conference victory on Saturday with a tough 2-1 home win over St. Joseph's-L.I. Freshman Jaime Salazar (Long Beach, Calif.) netted the game winner and Kevin Jardines (South Gate, Calif.) added a goal and an assist.
 
Jardines opened the scoring early on Saturday with his sixth goal of the season in the sixth minute. After Dennis Reyes (Waldwick, N.J.) was denied by St. Joseph's keeper, Avery Gomez, Jardines cleaned up the rebound for an early 1-0 lead for the home standing Dolphins.
 
The one goal lead would stand up until the Golden Eagles got the equalizer late in the first stanza. Cody Kull slipped a shot inside the right post off a scramble in the box to even the score heading into halftime. After Gaetano Innamorato had a shot blocked, Kull picked up the loss ball and tallied for the visitors at 43:03.
 
Through 45 minutes of play on Saturday, Mount Saint Vincent outshot St. Joseph's 11-4 and took the only two corner kicks in the half. Gomez made five saves in period, while Mount Saint Vincent goalkeeper David Melchor (Los Angeles, Calif.) stopped a single shot.
 
The game remained tied at 1-1 into the 83^rd minute on Saturday, until Salazar broke through with his second game winning goal of the season. After Jardines carried the ball into the box down the right wing, he served a ball to the back post for Salazar who buried his fifth goal of the season at 82:08.
 
The Dolphins withstood a late push from the visitors that saw two shots sail high and one hit the post in the final three minutes.
 
Jardines scored for the first time since September 27 and added the helper on the game winner to give him six tallies, a team-high five assists and 17 points in his sophomore season. Salazar sits third on the team in both goals and points as a freshman with five and 14, respectively.
 
Melchor picked up his sixth win in goal in 2014 on Saturday after making four saves. Gomez played a strong game for the visitors, stopping seven shots in the loss.
 
Overall, Mount Saint Vincent outshot the Golden Eagles 15-14 and took four of the five corner kicks in the tilt. Fouls were whistled 13 against each side.
 
Saturday's win moves Mount Saint Vincent to 7-8 overall on the season and to 3-3 in conference play. The Dolphins will look for their third straight win on Wednesday when they travel to Old Westbury. Kick-off with the Panthers is now scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

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