WESTFIELD, Ma. - The Southern Vermont College men's soccer team battled hard on the road Thursday, yet came up short to Westfield State College 2-0.
The Mountaineers, who dropped to 0-4 on the year, played hard yet were outmatched by the physical nature of Westfield State.
"They are a big, physical team and we didn't handle that well" said Mountaineer head coach Tim Penrod. "We came out a bit flat and overall didn't play very smart soccer."
After being shut-out in the first half, Westfield State's Kai Chee netted his team's first tally in the 50th minute. Sam Labonte rounded out the scoring for Westfield State in the 64th minute when he slid a shot past Mountaineer keeper Aaron Eschler (Gloversville, NY/ Broadalbin-Perth). Eschler ended the game with 12 saves for the Mountaineers.
Although the squad has yet to win a game this season, Penrod feels like the grueling early schedule his team has played will only help them in the future.
"Our schedule was designed to make us better for conference play. Facing physical teams like Westfield State will only help us get stronger in the future."
The Mountaineers will play their second consecutive road game Thursday September 11 when they travel to Poultney to face Green Mountain College for a 4:00 PM start.