POUGHKEEPSIE, NY -– In a game defined by hard and aggressive play and clutch goalkeeping by each team's goalie at critical junctures, Vassar and Union played to a hard-fought 0-0 double overtime tie this afternoon in Liberty League men's soccer action. For the host Brewers, it was their second double overtime tie in their last three league games, while Union has now played two consecutive overtime games.
Both Vassar (6-4-2, 1-3-2) and Union (10-2-2, 3-1-2) close out Liberty League regular season play on Sunday. The Brewers host Skidmore at 2:00 pm, while the Dutchmen have a 2:00 pm game at RPI. Vassar currently stands in seventh place in league standings, while Union sits in second place.
Each goalie, Vassar's Jason Cetel (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) and Union's Rob Kramer (Westport, CT/Staples), took turns making spectacular saves. Cetel's were game-saving, as he made two amazing stops in the second overtime to enable the tie, while Kramer made his in the first half when the Brewers, playing on emotion and heavy hearts, forced him to make big stops.
Cetel made two huge second overtime saves. The first came in the 102nd minute when Union's Jon Bellock (Manchester, CT/Loomis Chaffee) fed Dane Mellon (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa), whose on-point header was stopped by Cetel's lunging horizontal save and quick reaction. Three minutes later, at the 105th minute, Union peppered Cetel again. Paul Angelo (Albany, NY/Colonie Central) got off the first of two straight shots when Union was on the attack. His first hit the left post and ricocheted back to Angelo who flicked the ball to Mellon. His point blank shot was again masterfully saved by Cetel, his eighth of the game. Cetel faced 18 Union shots, six of which came in the second overtime.
Union's chance to break the scoreless game came in the 98th minute, when a Bellock flicked the ball to Chris Poey (Amherst, MA/Amherst Regional) who nearly converted with his attempt.
The Brewers controlled the action in the early going, with Kramer making 10 saves on the game (one in the second overtime) and six alone in the first half, none bigger than the save of a Jon Hootnick (Marblehead, MA/Marblehead) shot ten minutes into the contest. Hootnick's attempt followed Kramer's initial stop of shot by Alex Freund (Chicago, IL/Francis Parker). Kramer faced nine shots in the first half and 10 in the second.
Vassar had two other opportunities to score first, another Hootnick shot in the 24th minute of the first half that Kramer handled, and a just-wide right attempt by Ben Scaglione (Elizabeththown, NY/Elizabethtown Lewis). Union's only serious scoring threat came midway through the first half when a perfectly placed crossing pass by Tripp Pietrak (Amherst, NY/Canisius) sailed cleanly through the box without a Dutchmen player able to get a foot on the ball.
Union came on aggressively in the second half, with Pietrak and Chris Poey playing a good two-man game, but Cetel and the Vassar defense, led by Ben Fox (Dublin, NH/ConVal) rose to the occasion.
The most serious scoring opportunity in the second half came when Vassar's Matthew Belli (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) placed a free kick towards the goal that Marc Morelli (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) flicked at Kramer who made the stop.
Union had four corner kicks for the game; Vassar had three.
