NEW PALTZ, NY (August 30, 2013) – Junior striker Tom Wiechert (Dana Point, CA/San Clemente) busted out Friday afternoon with three goals, leading the Vassar College men's soccer team to a 3-1 victory over nearby rival SUNY New Paltz.

                  Wiechert became the first Brewer men's soccer player to net a hat trick in a game since Juliano Periera (Albany, CA/Albany) scored a trifecta last September against John Jay College. For Wiechert, it was his third career multi-goal performance, and first since his two-score outing against Union College on November 1, 2012.

                  The junior started the contest's scoring just 1:01 into the season, as he chipped the Hawk keeper from the top of the box after taking a pass from Cosmo Veneziale (Garden City, NY/Garden City). New Paltz (0-1) would equalize right before the half, netting a tally with nine seconds remaining before intermission on a goal from Bernardo Menendez. On the play, Caiden Williams' headed a shot off of Ryan Grimme (Gahanna, OH/Gahanna Lincoln) and the rebound bounced to Menendez, who scored to the left side of the net.

                  After the halftime break, the Brewers (1-0) would re-take their one-goal advantage thanks to another Weichert tally, this time coming at 61:10 of the contest to make the score 2-1. Just over seven minutes later following a New Paltz shot and Grimme save, VC would go the length of the field in less than 20 seconds. Eventually Wiechert got the ball, and some fancy footwork helped him elude his defenders and get a shot off from inside the box that beat Steven Domino for his hat trick.

                  The Vassar defense would hold up down the stretch, allowing only one more shot on goal in earning the opening day victory. Since the 2002 season, head coach Andy Jennings and his squads are an astounding 11-0-1 in season openers. The hosts narrowly outshot the Brewers 16-15 on the afternoon, though Vassar earned eight corners to the one of New Paltz.

                  Grimme finished the contest with five saves in net for VC, while his counterpart Domino had four saves. Weichert paced all Brewers with four shots, while Rob Manukyan (New York, NY/United Nations International School) had three attempts, two of which were on net. Alec Johnson led the way in the shot department for NP, tying for the game-high with four.

                  Vassar will continue its six-game road trip to start the season on Wednesday, September 4 at 7 p.m. as it heads to Danbury, CT for a matchup with Western Connecticut State at 7 p.m.