BENNINGTON, Vt. — A solid defensive effort and late show of heart by the Southern Vermont College women's soccer team helped secure a 2-1 Mountaineer victory over visiting Green Mountain College Saturday afternoon in non-conference action at Everett Field.
The Eagles scored their lone goal of the day in the 83rd minute to cut the deficit to one, but SVC was able to keep Green Mountain from obtaining any more quality chances for its first win of the season, despite having to continue with only 10 players for a few minutes following the GMC score due to an injury.
Mountaineer junior Rachel Cudo (West Hartford, Connecticut) and senior Lixsa Arlet Sandoval (Stockton, California) each notched their first goals of the season in the win while Green Mountain junior captain Maegan Laymon (Ilion, New York) put home her fourth of the year as the only Eagle tally.
SVC freshman keeper Melissa Mascari (Saratoga Springs, New York) picked up her first collegiate win in the net (1-6), making 10 saves on the day. Green Mountain junior goalie Kim Simonetti (Salem, Massachusetts) suffered the loss (1-4) without recording a save in the match.
Play started fairly evenly with both sides stringing passes along, but a strong northward wind helped keep the ball in the Green Mountain end of the field for a majority of the first half. Southern Vermont got on the board early when the Eagles attempted to clear the ball, just to have it find Cudo 25 yards away from the net. She lined up and put a low shot on frame, one that took a few quick hops before squirting through Simonetti's legs for the 1-0 advantage at the 9:39 mark, Cudo's second career collegiate goal.
The Mountaineers were able to take advantage of the strong wind before switching sides, adding their second goal with 2:22 to play in the first half. SVC sophomore Melodie Orrell (Gloucester, Massachusetts) carried the ball in deep down the left side of the field before making a nice cross that found feet. Green Mountain made successful challenges that negated the close range SVC opportunities, but the ball couldn't be cleared out far as it found Sandoval at the top of the box. She stepped up and fired the loose ball at the right side of the goal, netting it to put her team up 2-0 heading into the break.
Trying to protect the lead, and going against the wind, Southern Vermont found itself playing defense for a large part of the second half. The Mountaineer back line held tough, however, forcing the Eagles to take long shots from outside of the penalty area. In the last 30 minutes of action, GMC accounted for 14 shots, seven being on frame and causing Mascari to make a play.
With time running out for the Eagles, high pressure paid off as sophomore Casie Sharp (Newbury, Massachusetts) played a nice through ball down the pitch from close to midfield, finding Laymon who slotted home her goal from about six yards out to pull GMC to within one. On the scoring play, Mountaineer senior captain Michelle Flores (Pico Rivera, California) was injured and forced the clock to be stopped; she subsequently had to leave the field, not being replaced with a substitute as additional injuries had rendered the SVC bench thin.
The Eagles were able to get two shots off with the player advantage, one being on target for an easy Mascari save and the other sailing over the net. Flores shook off the pain and returned to the game with just under five minutes to go, helping the defense stand strong and retain possession for the team; SVC held Green Mountain to zero shots the rest of the way for the 2-1 win.
A physical match, GMC and Southern Vermont totaled 14 and nine fouls, respectively, with two cautions issued during the day. Impatience hurt SVC as the hosts were flagged for seven offsides calls, four of those coming in the first half.
The SVC win is the second in a row against Green Mountain and just the second for Southern Vermont in seven meetings between the two programs.
The Mountaineers (1-6) now look to their second match of a three-game home stand when they welcome SUNY Cobleskill to the SVC campus on Wednesday for a 4 p.m. start, the last non-league contest before heading into the New England Collegiate Conference schedule. Green Mountain (1-4) visits The Sage Colleges on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tilt, the Eagles' last match before beginning North Atlantic Conference action.