PHILADELPHIA – Junior forward Leon Maric hit the back of the net twice, freshman midfielder Garrett Lyons sandwiched a score in between, and freshman goalkeeper Joseph Boehm anchored a defense that posted its fourth shutout of the season as the Saint Joseph's men's soccer squad defeated St. Bonaventure, 3-0, in front of a packed crowd on Sweeney Field on Saturday evening.

With three more A-10 points, the Hawks move to 2-2-2 in league play (8-5-2 overall) and now tie for seventh, with Duquesne, in the A-10 standings, with all October 20 matches considered. The Bonnies (5-8-1, 2-4-0 A-10) fall to a tie for 10th, with UMass.

Additionally, Saint Joseph's remains unbeaten in home matches this year, at 6-0-1 (2-0-1 A-10).

"To be able to represent the program at home and have success is always important," said head coach Don D'Ambra following the match. "There's a lot of pride within this team. They're proud of who they're representing, so they want to play well at home."

For D'Ambra, the win was a welcomed one after two consecutive setbacks on the road.

"We needed to tighten up and readdress a lot of stuff we already knew," said D'Ambra of SJU's defensive unit. "We talked about our attackers defending in front of them and just better team defense. We were really trying to make an emphasis on not giving up any goals, at all. That was our goal, a shutout tonight, and they did a good job. We just had to get back on track. Offensively, we came in trying to high press. We felt that if we could win the ball up top, close to the goal, our attackers are pretty dangerous. I thought it was very affective today."

Saint Joseph's attack began nearly immediately, just 1:47 into the match. Senior midfielder Derek MacKinnon struck the ball toward goal, but St. Bonaventure's Isaiah Wilson was in position to deflect the ball back out, into play, with the deflection landing right at Maric's feet. The junior fired off his shot into the lower-left side to put the Hawks up early, 1-0.

"It starts with our front line," said Maric, who fired off five shots on the night. "We were pressing them non-stop, and it was a great team win."

Lyons' second goal of the season was an absolute gem, as the freshman beat three SBU defenders to put away SJU's second goal of the match, in the 28th minute.

Maric's second goal of the night began on a heads-up play by sophomore defender David Grana. Grana found Maric way up field, and Maric blasted a shot from just inside the box for his first collegiate brace (69').

"There's a selfless nature this year," said Grana of SJU's defensive core, which includes senior captain Eddie McCusker, redshirt junior captain Mike Fornaro, and fellow sophomore Daniel Morales. "Our team has bonded, and now we're a family. I'm really proud of that this year. Eddie and Mike have been great for us. We all make mistakes in the back, and if Daniel or I make a mistake, they always have our back. They're teaching us how to defend properly and ultimately how to set the stage for us to take their roles in the future and be leaders on this team."

That core four alongside sophomore midfielder Aidan Watkins, all of whom played the full match, allowed just seven shots on goal on the night, but Boehm (8-5-2, 2-2-2 A-10) made all seven stops to post his third collegiate shutout.

Saint Joseph's will take a break from the A-10 schedule to face Philadelphia Soccer Six opponent Drexel (8-5-3, 2-5-1 CAA) this Wednesday, October 24. Kickoff at Vidas Field is set for 6:00 p.m.