BENNINGTON, Vt. — A late comeback fell short for the Southern Vermont College men's soccer team Saturday afternoon as the hosting Mountaineers lost 5-2 to Vermont Technical College in non-conference action at Everett Field.
SVC tacked up a pair in a 10-minute stretch of the second half, both goals being career firsts for Mountaineer freshmen. The Knights' upper hand was too much to overcome, however, as VTC took the second all-time meeting between the two teams.
The Mountaineers (0-5) continue their four-game home stand on Wednesday when they welcome The Sage Colleges to Everett Field for a 4 p.m. non-conference start, SVC's final match before beginning the New England Collegiate Conference schedule. Vermont Tech (3-4-1) is right back in action on Sunday with a 3 p.m. start at SUNY Delhi.
Both teams were able to make offensive advances in the early going, but it was the Knights who struck first to take the quick lead. As VTC worked the ball into the SVC end of the field, a pass towards the top of the box was flicked by the head of sophomore Phillip Hepburn (Milton, Vt.) towards the right side; senior Joaquin Currier-Cubero (Danville, Vt.) ran onto it, settled and fired the ball into the lower left corner, his fourth of the season putting the visitors on top 1-0 at the 6:00 mark.
The Mountaineers nearly tied it in the 18th minute on a free kick when some misdirection and a soft layoff setup a low blast by senior captain James Tschinkel (Freehold, N.Y.); the attempt just missed the left side of the frame as the Knights maintained their slim advantage.
Vermont Tech was able to add to its lead with 23:51 to go in the first with a heading finish off a free kick. An SVC foul near the midfield allowed sophomore Matthew Brien (Colchester, Vt.) to send the ball into the center of the box from about 50 yards out, and freshman Troy Girard (Hillsboro, N.H.) flicked it high towards the goal; the ball dropped in just over the Mountaineer keeper's reach to put VTC on top 2-0.
Currier-Cubero added his second of the match with a tick under six minutes to go in the opening period when he banged home a loose ball in the box from the right side, sending the game to halftime with Vermont Tech up 3-0. A Southern Vermont penalty in the box on a Knight corner kick set up the first VTC tally of the second half, and the visitors padded their lead shortly after to make it 5-0.
Late in the game, SVC freshman Mahat Abdullahi (Burlington, Vt.) notched his first collegiate goal on a nice setup cross by classmate Nikolas Joseph (Coventry, Conn.) who sent the ball in from the left side. The pass found Abdullahi in the middle of the box, and he took the necessary touch to avoid the imminent Knight defender for an open look at net; the shot was sent into the back of the frame to get Southern Vermont on the board with 15:26 left to go.
Joseph then tallied his first collegiate goal to further cut the deficit, lacing in an unassisted fire from about 25 yards away from the right side of the pitch; his uncontested take soared and dropped in just under the crossbar, over the Knights' keeper to make it a 5-2 affair. That difference would hold as Vermont Tech was able to close out the victory and keep SVC from getting any closer.