BENNINGTON, Vt. – The Southern Vermont College men's soccer team was 1:18 away from finishing off its fourth New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) draw of the year Saturday afternoon, but the visiting Lesley University Lynx were able to notch the double-overtime game winner to spoil the Mountaineers' Senior Day at Everett Field.

An SVC goal at the 23:15 mark gave the hosts a 1-0 lead that they carried through halftime and into the 67th minute. That's when LU tied it up, and the final 23:41 of regulation went scoreless to force Southern Vermont's fifth overtime game of the year. Neither side could find the back of the net through the first 18:42 of extra time as the end of the contest drew near, but Lesley was able to come away victorious with a transition goal in the regular season finale.

Prior to the start of the match, SVC recognized and honored its lone senior Mountaineer in four-year starter and two-year captain Taylor Baker (Hoosick Falls, N.Y.).

Southern Vermont finishes the season at 4-10-3 overall and 1-4-3 in league play. Lesley heads into the postseason tournament with a mark of 6-10-2, finishing the Conference schedule at 5-2-1 to take the three seed in the NECC playoffs.

SVC's score came off the foot of freshman Daniel Rangel (San Antonio, Texas), that goal being assisted by sophomore captain Nikolas Joseph (Coventry, Conn.). LU junior Anthony Vitta (Oceanside, N.Y.) had both Lynx tallies, each of his scores being set up by junior Angel Ruiz (Phoenix, Ariz.).

Mountaineer freshman goaltender Chris Jimenez (Newark, N.J.) made eight saves in the loss (4-10-3) while Lesley junior counterpart James Webb (San Francisco, Calif.) had three of his own in the victory (6-8-2).

Southern Vermont struck first, going up 1-0 in the 24th minute of the match. The Mountaineers worked the ball deep into the LU end of the field, and a crossing pass from the left side ended up at Joseph's feet; he played a great ball to the right where Rangel was able to meet it, slotting a shot past Webb on a tough angle for his fourth goal of the year. That was also Joseph's seventh helper of the season, giving him the second most in the league.

After SVC put a pair of shots on net in the following 10 minutes, the Lynx had a great chance to even things with just under three minutes to play. They brought it in from the left side and worked it through the box to the right, giving LU senior captain Harrison Sidell (Newhall, Calif.) a one-on-one chance with Jimenez; the Southern Vermont keeper was quick to come off his line, however, and smothered the chance to help send the game to halftime with the hosts still up 1-0.

Jimenez was tested a few times in the opening 12 minutes of the second period, but he was able to turn away each Lesley take to keep his team on top. As play started to get heated between the squads and cautions started to get issued, LU took advantage of an offensive push to tie the score. Ruiz played a great ball over the top of the SVC defense from near the center circle, sending it down to towards the right side of the box. Vitta met it and was able to get a shot off before being taken out by a sliding Jimenez, sending the ball into the back of the cage for his second of the year and the equalizer.

There was only one shot on frame through the final 23:41 of regulation, that being a strong header from SVC freshman Devin Furphy (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) on a crossing pass that was denied by Webb. The 1-1 tally carried into overtime despite Lesley playing a man down after a Lynx player was issued a pair of cautions in the same stoppage during the 79th minute.

Jimenez turned away two LU shots in the first overtime period as Lesley applied pressure while going for the win. The Lynx continued to take their chances in the second extra session, but none of their first four takes landed on frame. SVC came inches away from getting the winning score to go as a corner kick taken by Joseph resulted in a quick scrum in the middle of the goal area; a Mountaineer shot was blocked by traffic, allowing the game to resume.

It would be two minutes later that Lesley put it away as Vitta got his second of the day and third of the year. As Southern Vermont brought the ball up field, a pass was picked off to give the Lynx a quick transition opportunity. Ruiz played a through ball up the field to Vitta, and the LU junior slipped it past the Mountaineer keeper before celebrating in the arms of his teammates.

– #LetsGoSVC –