Vassar Brewers Men’s Soccer Posts 2-1 Win at Ithaca

By Amie Canfield

ITHACA – Powered by a pair of second half goals, the Vassar College men’s soccer team battled from behind to earn a 2-1 win over Ithaca College in the Liberty League regular season finale for both teams. The Brewers moved to 9-3-4 overall and finish league play with a 5-0-4 mark. The Bombers conclude their season at 3-9-5 and 2-4-3 in the Liberty League.

Vassar secured the second seed in the upcoming Liberty League Tournament, earning a First Round bye. The Brewers will now host a Semifinal contest on Friday, November 4th against the Tuesday winner between third-seeded Skidmore and sixth-seeded Hobart. Game time is set for 2:30pm on Gordon Field.

After a scoreless first half that saw both teams post four attempts, the Bombers got on the board in the 56th minute as Owen Johnstone sent a fantastic cross through the goal mouth, which was headed into the back of the net by Connor Tierney for the 1-0 lead.

The Brewers netted the equalizer six minutes later as junior defender Liam Kleitz delivered the ball in off a short corner to rookie midfielder Jared Fiske as he one-timed it into the middle right of the net.

Senior captain Owen Fauth broke the stalemate in the 73rd minute, heading a cross from classmate Nolan Alexander past the Ithaca keeper for the go-ahead and eventual game-winning tally.

Ithaca had several more corner kick attempts and saw another solid chance as Aidan Keenan dropped one in on net that was quickly saved by senior goalie Eric Wnorowski in the final six minutes of the contest.

The Brewers owned a narrow 11-10 advantage in shots, while the Bombers had a slight 6-5 edge in shots on goal. Ithaca also had an 11-5 margin in corner kicks.

In goal, Wnorwoski earned the victory with five stops, while Ithaca keeper Johannes Berghahn had three saves in the loss.