BOX SCORE

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - The Union College men's soccer team fell to Vassar College 3-0 on Wednesday after 90 hard fought minutes in the rain.  The game-winning goal, his third of the season, came from senior Sam Erlichson McCarthy less than seven minutes into the match.  The Dutchmen move to 11-4-1 with a 2-4-1 conference record, while the Brewers are now 9-5-2 and 3-3-1 in the Liberty League.

McCarthy's game-winner came at the 6:44 mark after a throw-in from junior Zander Mrlik.  The senior defenseman managed to leap up over several bodies and head the ball into the top left corner of the net. 

Despite the unfavorable weather conditions, both teams came out strong from the start of the game.  The first few minutes were dominated by Vassar's offense, with senior Ross Macklin earning a corner kick just four minutes in.  Displaying phenomenal defense, Union junior Sebastiaan Jansen responded quickly by heading the ball out of reach of the Brewers.

After Vassar went up 1-0 early in the first half, the Dutchmen had the next great chance.  Senior Chris Choquette fired a shot directly in front of the net, where Jansen had stationed himself between two Brewers.  The junior jumped up to attempt a header, but the ball edged away past the left goal post.  Jansen would get another scoring opportunity moments later when sophomore goaltender Ryan Grimme played the ball far out of net.  However, Grimme was solid in net, earning a shut out with six saves.

Just under 26 minutes into the game, Macklin took a penatly kick for the Brewers.  The leading point scorer tallied his seventh goal of the season and moves to 20 points.  Senior Harrison Freund and junior Casey Rice were also powerful forces, creating offensive opportunities by dribbling in past Union's defense.

Senior Marc Zeyak had a strong offensive game, taking four shots for the Dutchmen and generating several of their scoring chances. An overall highlight for Union was freshman Benjamin Golub, who was a playmaker throughout the entire match.  Seniors Tom Albano and Kevin Giron were solid defensemen, constantly winning battles for possession and clearing the ball out in front of senior goaltenders Adam Margulies and Mike Szczesniak.

Margulies earned a save before Szczesniak took over at the 33:32 mark.  The Armonk, NY native made three saves.

At the beginning of the second half, Union's offense gained some momentum with an immediate shot coming from Zeyak.  Freshman Will Poetzsch had a huge save moments later in front of Szczesniak, sliding on the ground to make a block. 

The Dutchmen would have one of their best chances of the game when senior Craig Santangelo received an excellent pass from Golub.  The senior blasted a shot directly into the forearms of Grimme, forcing the ball to ricochet in front of a Brewer defenseman. 

Despite the spark in the Dutchmen, Vassar would score their third and final goal with less than 10 minutes left in the match.  Freund took a corner kick at the 80 minute mark, and Juliano Pereira would head the ball over Szczesniak five seconds later.  It was the sophomore's eighth goal of the season.

Union hosts their final regular season match on Saturday, October 29th, against Skidmore at 3:00 p.m.