POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (October 2, 2015) – The Brewers upset No. 16 St. Lawrence 1-0 in the team's Liberty League opener Friday afternoon in what will go down as a historic day for Vassar soccer. The loss marked just the second defeat and third goal allowed for the Saints all season, as senior Tom Wiechert (San Clemente, CA/San Clemente) netted his first career score against SLU. Vassar improves to 5-2-2 on the season and 1-0 in the Liberty League with the win, while St. Lawrence drops to 7-2-2 (1-1 LL).

The victory is just the fourth win all-time for Vassar vs. St. Lawrence, and is the first win for the Brewers over SLU since 2009. The win is also the first-ever on record for Vassar over a ranked opponent, as the squad now sits 1-0-1 vs. ranked teams this year.   

It was a cold, rainy afternoon at Gordon Field, and players from both sides continually lost their footing on the wet grass surface throughout the duration of the match. St. Lawrence suffered from a slip early on in the game, after a cross from sophomore Alex Gonzales (Aliso Viejo, CA/Mater Dei) made it to Wiechert in the middle of the 18-yard box. The defender marking Wiechert fell after the pass, giving the senior forward a wide-open look at the goal. Wiechert buried his shot into the right side of the net giving Vassar a quick 1-0 lead in just the second minute.

St. Lawrence recovered, and immediately began pressuring off the restart on the other end. A pair of back-to-back shots from Chandler Short were turned away from senior goalkeeper Sebastien Lasseur (Cornwall, CT/Housatonic Vly Regional), who finished with a career-high eight saves.

Lasseur was again tested with a pair of quality attempts from Noah Bunton in the eighth minute, but the senior net minder again stepped up to deflect the ball away and preserve the shutout. The Saints generated a handful of chances with the wind at their backs throughout the half, but Vassar held firm carrying the 1-0 advantage into the break.

Vassar had an edge early in the second half, as the Brewers did well to posses the ball and limit St. Lawrence's chances. Down the stretch, the Saints began to push the pace again, forcing Lassuer to make three of his saves in the final ten minutes. Center backs Nick Hess (Troy, NY/Averill Park) and Tyler Gilmore (Coronado, CA/Coronado) were excellent in the backline for VC, continually playing balls away from danger when the Saints threatened.

The game hung in the balance until the last second, after a shot from Austin Dilts was punched away by Lassuer at the Buzzer.

Vassar will now look to recover before playing the team's second game of the weekend tomorrow afternoon at home vs. Clarkson. The Golden Knights (4-5-1, 1-0 LL) earned a 3-2 win over Bard College in this afternoon.

--VASSAR--