POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (October 25, 2014) – Sophomores Vito Mesti and Matt Koziol scored a pair of second half goals less than two minutes apart, as the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute downed Vassar 2-0 Saturday afternoon. The Brewers had multiple chances throughout the day, but could not capitalize on any of their 13 shots, dropping to 9-5-2 overall and 3-2-1 in the Liberty League. RPI improves to 11-2-3 (6-1-1 LL) and is guaranteed at least the No. 2 seed in the Liberty League Tournament.

Vassar appeared to have the upper hand in the first half of the contest at Gordon Field, as the Brewers rattled off a collection of close shots. One of Vassar's best opportunities in the match came in the 31^st minute, after a shot from senior Justin Mitchell (Layton, UT/Northridge) went wide of the goal. Freshman Reid Smith (Greensboro, NC/Greensboro Day School) was there to collect the rebound, a fired a hard shot that deflected off the crossbar and out of the box to keep the game knotted at zero.

Mitchell produced another close call for the Engineers in the 39^th minute, after finding an opening in the defense on the left side of the box. He powered a well-placed shot wide past the keeper, but a RPI defender was there in front of the goal line to clear the ball away and make the save.

Only a few minutes later, junior Stephen Jennings (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) got a sequence going setting up Smith for another scoring opportunity. With multiple defenders checking him, Smith attempted to tuck a back heel shot inside the left post, but the ball rolled just wide of the net. Despite a 9-8 advantage in shots for RPI in the first half, it was the Brewers that put together more quality chances as the Engineers escaped to halftime with the score tied 0-0.

The theme of the game began to shift in the second half, as play became more physical and both defenses began to clamper down on opportunities. RPI finally broke the tie in the 74^th minute, after junior Matt Carberry punched a ball through the Vassar defense just outside the 18-yard box. Vito Mesti was there to run onto it in the right corner, and scored past sophomore goalkeeper Adam Warner (Tenafly, NJ/Tenafly) in the middle of the net.

Stephen Jennings managed a shot off the restart, but it tailed wide of the net as RPI regained possession off the goal kick. Not long after in the 76^th minute, Koziol was able to get his foot on a ball that bounced high in the box off a free kick. His one-timed attempt deflected into the net, and before VC could blink it was 2-0 RPI.    

Vassar was almost able to get one back in the 83^rd minute, after a shot from freshman Tanner Sands (Draper, UT/Juan Diego) ricocheted off the left post. The ball slowly rolled towards the goal line, but the RPI keeper was there to scoop it up and keep VC out of the scoring column.

Vassar will need to finish strong in its final two conference games against Union (8-8-1/2-4 LL) and Bard (5-10, 1-5 LL). The Brewers will have their first chance to rebound against the Dutchmen on Wednesday, October 29. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 pm at Gordon Field.
 

-VASSAR-