Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (September 24, 2010) -- After nearly 109 minutes of even play, the Vassar College men's soccer team dropped its Liberty League opener 2-1 to St. Lawrence in a hard-fought double overtime game Friday afternoon at Gordon Field.

With just over a minute left in the second and final overtime, Saints junior forward Sean Scott received a pass on the run from Sam DeMello and charged at the goal. Brewers goalkeeper Ryan Grimme came out sliding to stop Scott and intercepted the ball with his legs, but Scott knocked it free on his second effort and tapped it into the goal for the game-winner.

Vassar is now 5-3, 0-1 in league play, and will host Clarkson Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Saint Lawrence improves to 6-2 (1-0) on the season, and will travel to Rennselaer Saturday afternoon for a 2:00 p.m. game.

Vassar had a free kick from just outside the St. Lawrence penalty box less than a minute into the second overtime and matched the Saints with two shots in the period, but was unable to find the back of the net in its first overtime game of the season.

The Brewers defeated the Saints 3-2 in their last meeting in 2009, and Friday's league opener was an intense, fast-paced renewal of the rivalry. St. Lawrence out-shot Vassar 24-14 with ten shots on goal to Vassar's three, but Grimme answered the call all day long with a season-high seven saves. St. Lawrence committed 18 fouls and drew three yellow cards, while Vassar had 19 fouls and one yellow card.

The Saints amassed 14 shots in the first half, and appeared to take control with a goal in the 40th minute of the frame. Vassar attempted a long throw-in deep in its offensive end, but the Saints' size and speed quickly produced a counter-attack against the retreating Brewers defense. DeMello led the charge, and after a few moves at the top of the 18-yard box he fired a shot into the bottom right corner for the 1-0 lead.

Vassar's first half equalizer came just three minutes later. Junior midfielder Ross Macklin took a pass down the right side and carried it nearly to the end line, before striking a hard cross in front of the goal just out of the reach of Saints goalkeeper Nate Goss-Woliner. Sophomore Harrison Freund was waiting back post for Macklin's delivery, and tucked the ball inside the left post for his third goal of the season.

The second half was a contest of physicality (17 combined fouls) and defense. Despite ample offensive opportunities for each team, neither could find a goal. With 14 minutes left, Scott snapped a header out of Grimme's reach, but just over the crossbar.

Five minutes later a string of crisp Vassar passes left Eli London open with the ball on the right side of the Saints goal, but London's shot strayed just left of the post. Two minutes later, Freund launched a cross in front of the goal, but two airborne Vassar attackers missed their header attempts by mere inches.

Macklin led Vassar with three shots in addition to his assist. Saints forward Mike Manfredi had six shots, four on goal, and DeMello had six shots including the first-half goal and the game-winning assist, increasing his team lead in points to 10.

Goss-Woliner had just two saves on the day for the Saints, and is now 3-1.