BENNINGTON, Vt. — The Southern Vermont College men's soccer team played its final home game of the season Wednesday afternoon, falling 3-2 to Fisher College in non-conference action at Everett Field.
Fisher went up 2-0 in the first half before the Mountaineers cut it to a one-goal game with a penalty kick. The Falcons extended their lead back to a pair right before the break and then kept its separation through most of the second period. Southern Vermont brought it back to one with just under eight minutes to play, but the Mountaineers couldn't find the equalizer as time ran out.
SVC (4-13) is now slated to wrap up the season on Saturday at Lesley University, that New England Collegiate Conference kickoff slated for 3 p.m.
Fisher had a great look early on, working the ball to the top of the box before junior Tyler Gahara (Hooksett, N.H.) ripped a shot on frame. Mountaineer freshman keeper Noah Chani (Hoosick Falls, N.Y.) came up with a big-time diving save, however, as he pushed it away to keep the Falcons off the board.
The next 15 minutes of action saw both sides get accustomed to the rain and steady wind that averaged 20 miles an hour and gusted at times up to 36 mph. Finally, Fisher broke through with its first tally of the day. Gahara collected the ball towards the right side of the box, took a few touches and fired his 20th goal of the year into the lower left corner for the 1-0 advantage in the 16th minute.
A little over eight minutes later, the Falcons padded their lead on a free kick. Junior Jordan Markovich (Malden, Mass.) hit the set piece on the right side of the field in SVC territory, sending it across the gut of the pitch to the back side of the penalty area. Classmate Tom Pugliese (Saugus, Calif.) ran on and banged it into the back of the net, his sixth of the year putting the visitors ahead 2-0.
Fisher maintained that upper hand for about the next 5:30 before Southern Vermont cut the deficit in half. Freshman Matthew Hatch (Sahuarita, Ariz.) took a pass near the midfield and carried the ball through open space deep into the FC end before being met by the Fisher keeper. A sliding save resulted in a rebound opportunity for SVC, but the second chance was denied by a Falcon defender on the goal line. As a melee ensued in the box, a Mountaineer was pushed down for a penalty shot to be awarded. Southern Vermont freshman Nikolas Joseph (Coventry, Conn.) was chosen to take the kick, and he sent his sixth goal of the year into the lower right corner of the goal to make it 2-1 with 15:14 left to go in the half.
Fisher once again made it a two-goal game before the break, Pugliese putting home his second of the day with 1:36 left on the clock. An SVC clear attempt from the Mountaineers' penalty area was stymied by the wind and found Gahara who brought the ball into the right side of the box; he drew the Southern Vermont defense and Chani towards him, allowing Pugliese to run through the back side and slot in the square pass to make it a 3-1 match going into the break.
Neither side could put one over the line through the opening 37 minutes of the second half until Southern Vermont trimmed the Fisher lead once again. A ball sent into the Falcons' box saw SVC freshman Anthony Dominguez (Los Angeles, Calif.) flick it with his head at the frame, but FC freshman keeper Eliseu DiPena (Boston, Mass.) got a hand on it to knock down the attempt. The rebound, however, was left loose for Mountaineer junior captain Taylor Baker (Hoosick Falls, N.Y.) to run on and clean it up to make it a 3-2 affair with 7:51 to go in the game. Fisher was able to keep Southern Vermont out of the net the rest of the way, holding on to its slim upper hand for the victory.
Chani finished the day with seven saves while DiPena turned away four Mountaineer shots in the win.