BENNINGTON, Vt. – On a soaking Everett Field that saw blustery winds throughout the match, the Southern Vermont College men's soccer team fell 5-2 to Newbury College Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action.

The Nighthawks went up 2-0 through the opening 45 minutes with the help of a penalty kick, and they outscored SVC by one in the second half to secure a postseason tournament berth.

Southern Vermont (4-8-3, 1-3-3 NECC) turns to a Wednesday, 7 p.m. non-conference match at Castleton University while Newbury (10-7-1, 4-3 NECC) caps its regular season the same day with a 7 p.m. Conference home game against Daniel Webster College.

Southern Vermont's goals came from freshman Connor Kristiansen (Shelton, Conn.) and senior captain Taylor Baker (Hoosick Falls, N.Y.) while Mountaineer sophomore captain Nikolas Joseph (Coventry, Conn.) registered his sixth assist of the year to rank second in the Conference.

Newbury senior Alex Davis (Gloucester, Mass.) scored twice on the day, one being the penalty and his second being what proved to be the game winner. Classmate Ethan Forrest (E. Bridgewater, Mass.) also had a pair of scores in the win as freshman Estevao Gomes (Boston, Mass.) and sophomore Thomas Butts (Braintree, Mass.) each tallied an assist.

Mountaineer freshman keeper Chris Jimenez (Newark, N.J.) turned away nine Newbury shots while taking the loss in net (4-8-3). Newbury sophomore Jarred Smith (Watertown, N.Y.) faced just one shot on goal in the first half before being replaced at the break; freshman Casey Cisero (Shelton, Conn.) came in to replace him, being in goal when the winning score was registered to pick up the victory (4-1). Cisero made three saves in the final 45 minutes.

The game was crucial for both squads in trying to earn a spot in the upcoming NECC playoffs, leading to tough-nosed action that was- at times- sloppy due to the slick footing. That resulted in four cautions being issued, two being given to the same Mountaineer in the first half which led to the hosts playing down a man for the final 55 minutes of action. SVC will now need to win its final Conference game of the year and get some help from around the league to get into the postseason.

Both teams had some decent chances early on, considering the conditions, but neither keeper was especially challenged too much as the two sides tried to figure out what was going to work through the messy pitch.

Finally, the Nighthawks got on the board when a ball skipped up and off the arm of a Mountaineer defender just inside the box. The center official deemed it deliberate handling and awarded the penalty kick, much to the dismay of Southern Vermont and its fans. Davis was selected to take the shot, and he made it count by blasting it into the upper-right part of the net for his fifth of the year at the 25:42 mark.

Newbury padded its lead in the 34th minute after working the ball around the outside of the box. Gomes fed freshman Alex Strafer (Auburn, Mass.) about 30 yards out, and he took a few touches before lacing a great shot into the top-right corner for his sixth of the season and the 2-0 upper hand.

The Nighthawks brought that advantage into the halftime break before extending it with a pair of goals in the first 20 minutes of the second period. Davis made a nice move at the top of the penalty area to elude a Mountaineer defender and create a look, and he then finished by shooting the ball into the lower-right corner of the frame for his sixth tally of the year at the 53:04 mark.

Forrest subsequently put in his first of the day and his 10th of the season, making a nice move on the left side before knocking it home from about 15 yards out in the 65th minute.

SVC ended the Newbury shutout with 19:54 to go when Joseph hit a corner kick from the left side-- right into the middle of the box. That's where Kristiansen was waiting, and he got above the crowd to head it off the inside of the left post; the carom crossed the goal line as the freshman's second score of the year made it a 4-1 NC upper hand.

Newbury would quickly push it back to a four-goal lead, however, as Forrest registered his second of the day just 1:38 later. Butts played a great crossing pass from the right side of the pitch, one that sailed to the far post for Forrest to put it into the back of the cage for his 11th of the year.

Baker got on the scoresheet in the 81st minute with his second of the season, cutting it back to a three-goal deficit for the Mountaineers. SVC worked the ball deep down the left side, and a crossing pass was tipped around in front of the net before the Southern Vermont captain slammed it home to make it a 5-2 game. That would be the closest the hosts could get-- Newbury keeping the Mountaineers from putting another shot on frame through the remainder of the match to finish off the victory.

– #LetsGoSVC –