BENNINGTON, Vt. — Southern Vermont College collected its first New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) men's soccer win Saturday afternoon, shutting out visiting Becker College 2-0 at Everett Field.

The Mountaineers tallied their first goal in the 21st minute of the match and then added an insurance score with just over 20 minutes to go in the game.

SVC is now 2-0-1 against the Hawks in the last three meetings between the sides, taking a 7-6-1 advantage in the all-time series.

Southern Vermont (3-9, 1-2 NECC) is next in action on Monday, welcoming Wheelock College to Everett Field for a 2 p.m. NECC match. Becker (0-13, 0-3) also hosts a Conference game on Monday for its next contest, lining up against Regis College at 1 p.m.

A patient start to the game saw SVC take its time in controlling the ball through its defensive end of the field, waiting for opportunities to advance the attack. Just over 20 minutes into the game, the Mountaineers worked the ball down into the top of the Becker box but could not string together passes as the Hawk defense broke up the initial opportunity. Still, SVC freshman Matthew Hatch (Sahuarita, Ariz.) was able to get his foot on the loose ball and sent it into the top right corner of the frame to give the Mountaineers an early lead with his second goal of the year.

The two sides continued to battle back-and-forth through the remainder of the period, a total of 14 fouls being called in the first half. Southern Vermont played staunch defense that didn't concede a single shot on goal through the opening 45 minutes of action, holding Becker to just three shots overall before the break. SVC only got two more attempts on frame of its own, neither crossing the line as the game went to intermission with the hosts clinging to their 1-0 edge.

Southern Vermont didn't sit back and play solely defense in the second half, getting six more shots on goal through the stanza. Becker had chances of its own, but both of the Hawks' attempts on target were denied by SVC freshman keeper Noah Chani (Hoosick Falls, N.Y.).

The Mountaineers got some breathing room with an insurance goal at the 68:07 mark of the match as they worked the ball from midfield down the right side of the pitch. Senior captain Sean Deegan (Seymour, Conn.) carried it deep and sent a cross into the near side of the box where Bennington College freshman Jonathan Nordh (Flekke, Norway) was able to one-time a shot across the face of the net, finding the lower left corner for his fourth goal of the year and Deegan's second assist of the 2015 campaign.

Up 2-0, SVC continued to push when afforded the opportunity and got four more shots off through the remainder of the match, two being on net. Becker sophomore keeper Matthew Castro (Shirley, Mass.) saved both to maintain the slim separation, but the Hawk offense would be hard-pressed to get any quality chances down the stretch as the Mountaineers closed out the league victory.

Chani ended the day with the pair of saves for his second shutout of the season (3-9) while Castro totaled seven in the loss (0-2).