POULTNY, Vt. – The Southern Vermont College Men's Soccer team opened its 2011 campaign with a 4-0 victory over Green Mountain College. In a night of first at Southern Vermont College, the men's program won its season opener for the first time since 2001.
"We wanted to start the season off on the right foot," said senior captain Nick Haggerty. "The team came out strong by creating early opportunities and then stuck with it to convert late in the half."
Haggerty scored his 36th career goal as a Mountaineer four minutes into the second half. The first goal for SVC came when Ignacio Cervantes scored on a ball from beyond the 18.
"It took us a while to break them down," said head coach Tim Penrod. "They were good defensively and their goalkeeper is very good, but we stayed patient and were able to break through in the second half."
SVC seized control of the game in then second half scoring three goals. The second half charge was led by Sophomore Pierre Massena who scored two goals coming in the 55th and 62nd minute.
Green Mountian College goalkeeper Nate Kishbaugh played resilient facing 19 shots and coming up with six saves. Mountaineers keeper Connor Anniello earned his first collegiate win, as he made two save in his debut.
With a mix of experience and a wealth of youth, Penrod was able to use the season opener to get everyone playing time. "Each guy was able to see around 15 minutes of playing time. We were able to rest some of our guys and get the freshman game experience," said the fifth year head coach.
SVC will host Bard at Everett Field on Saturday, September 3rd at 1:00PM. The last meeting between the two squads was two seasons ago, when Southern Vermont won 3-2 in the Raptor Invitational, to win the championship.