Men's Soccer

POULTNEY, Vt. - The Southern Vermont College Men's Soccer team beat the Green Mountain College Eagles in non-conference action today by a score of 3-2. It is the team's first win in nearly two years. It is also the first win of the Coach Tim Penrod Era.

In the first half Southern Vermont created three scoring chances which it converted to put the score at 3-0 in the Mountaineers favor at halftime.  Sophomore midfielder Tony Martinez (Hoosick Falls, NY) opened the scoring when freshman midfielder Nick Haggerty (Wynantstill, NY) served the ball from the end line.  The two would connect again as Haggerty tallied his first goal on a ball served in from Martinez.  Haggerty would score the eventual game winner unassisted from a sideline chip from 40 yards.

"In the first half we came out and executed our game plan. We put them under immediate pressure and we were able to score two very nice goals in the first seven minutes," Penrod said. "Nick and Tony combined very well throughout the game and played a huge part in the result."

Sophomores Aaron Eschler (Gloversville, NY) and Elias Skiff (Durham, NY) combined for the win for the Mountaineers (1-4), including a penalty kick save in the second half from Skiff, while facing 21 shots.  Freshman Eagle Ryder Ritchie faced 12 shots in the loss for the Eagles (0-5), who are left still searching for their first win of the season.

"Both of our goalkeepers played phenomenally well," added Penrod. "They made big plays when we needed them to."

As for the first win of his head coaching career, the 2nd-year coach was humble.

"It's great to get the first win and it's not going to be the last here at SVC," said the young skipper. "Things are changing here and soon people will start to see the results in the box scores."

Green Mountain fought back in the second half with goals from senior defender Jon Wagner-Herbert and senior midfielder Tibersious Ssendawula.  Freshman Brendan Regan assisted the first while junior defender Lee Robinson assisted on the second. The Eagles could not break through the Mountaineers defense to tie it going into the final minutes.

The Mountaineers win was not just the first win of the year but the first since October 8, 2006 against current conference foe Daniel Webster by a score of 3-2 in overtime.

SVC is back on the road Saturday, September 13, when the team heads to Pottersville, N.Y., to take on the Word of Life Huskies at 1:00 PM.