SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College men's soccer team played to a 2-2 draw with Vassar on Wednesday evening at the Turf at College Park. With the draw, both Union and Vassar move into a three-way tie with RIT for the fourth and final playoff spot in the upcoming Liberty League Tournament.
The three teams are tied with 10 points and each has one league game remaining on Saturday. The Dutchmen will host Skidmore, who currently sit in third place in the standings. RIT will travel to Hobart for their final match of the season while Vassar will host Bard in their final home game.
The match opened with back-and-forth action as both teams fought for control of the ball. Union opened up the scoring opportunities when sophomore forward
Carl Faber headed a corner from junior midfielder that was saved by the outstretched hands of Brewers goalkeeper Ryan Grimme.
Vassar answered the Union scoring chance by converting on their first chance of the match. The Brewers capitalized on a throw in by the end line as forward Tom Wiechert took a shot that was deflected by a Union defenseman. Midfielder Gavin Jennings picked up the rebound from the Union defender and buried a shot past the sea of Dutchmen defenders at the 41:01 mark of the first half.
The half would end with Vassar leading on the scoreboard and in shots with 6.
The Dutchmen came out of the half by creating sustained offensive pressure in the Vassar half. The persistent Dutchmen were awarded when Faber was dragged down in the Vassar box by defenseman Evan Seltzer, resulting in a Union penalty kick. Janson buried the penalty into the top right corner of the net to tie the game at one at the 50:33 mark of the second half.
The Dutchmen continued their offensive pressure and were awarded a second time just under 13 minutes later. Faber crossed a ball from the left side to senior forward
Nick Vozzella who held off a defender and beat the goalie short side for his fourth goal of the season.
With the momentum on the Dutchmen side the Union forwards continued to attack but at the 70:47 mark the Dutchmen fouled a Vassar forward near midfield. On the ensuing free kick by midfielder Justin Mitchell, defenseman Zach Nasipak kicked a dribbler that snuck in the right post past junior goalkeeper
Ryan Carter.
The Dutchmen continued to apply pressure but were unable to break through again as the whistle blew for the end of regulation. The physical nature of the game saw both teams amass a combined five yellow cards.
The Dutchmen continued to control the momentum into the overtime sessions, tallying three shots in the final 20 minutes of play but were unable to break the tie.
Union led in shots 15-9 and both teams were tied for corner kicks with seven. Carter finished the game with four saves for the Dutchmen and Grimme finished with three saves including one that kept the game tied in the first overtime session.
The Dutchmen hope to keep their postseason hopes alive on Saturday when they host Skidmore for a match at the Turf at College Park starting at 2 p.m.
