Vassar Soccer Posts 1-1 Draw Against Hobart

By Amie Canfield

POUGHKEEPSIE – It was a low-scoring affair as Vassar College and Hobart College played to a 1-1 tie in Liberty League men’s soccer action on Saturday afternoon at Gordon Field. The draw moves the Brewers to 7-3-4 overall and 3-0-4 in the league, while the Statesmen are now 7-3-5 with a 3-1-4 Liberty League mark.

Both teams came out firing with Vassar senior captain Owen Fauth’s first shot of the game being blocked by the Hobart defense, while the Statesmen saw senior forward Amad Miller have a shot of his own blocked on the other end in the 17th minute. Hobart put together back-to-back attempts in the 27th minute as sophomore forward Frederick Madsen had his shot go just wide, followed quickly by a header from junior middie Max Daniels the also caromed just beyond the net.

Hobart senior middie Nolan Fierro had the Statesmen’s best chance in the opening half, heading the ball in off a lobbed pass, but Vassar senior keeper Eric Wnorowski was there for the timely stop in the 37th minute. As the clock edged closer to halftime, the Brewers finally capitalized in the 43rd minute. A long ball off a free kick from the nearside found its way to the far post, rookie midfielder Otis Wildman headed it into the middle as classmate Diego Pastor-Valverde chipped it in for the 1-0 lead.

Second half action saw the homestanding Brewers continue to drive in shots on the Hobart end. Shots by sophomores Jackson Hall and Danny Berry both caromed just wide in the 55th minute, but the Statesmen countered as Fierro had a shot bank off the crossbar, followed by a Miller shot that went just wide of the right side.

Hobart finally broke through in the 72nd minute as the Statesmen were awarded the penalty kick following a take-down in the box. Miller stepped up for the visitors, driving the ball into the right past a diving Wnorowski for the equalizer. Both teams has several chances as time counted down, but neither could grab the go-ahead.

In goal, Wnorowski finished with one save, while Statesmen keeper Guillermo Castaneda Chang also had one stop on the other end. It was a stalemate in shots for the contest, both teams posting 13 total with two on goal. Vassar owned the advantage in corners by a 10-2 margin.

Vassar is back on the pitch on Wednesday when it hosts Rensselaer in Liberty League action on Gordon Field. Game time is set for 3:30pm.