POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (October 23, 2017) – The Vassar men's soccer suffered their first Liberty League loss of the season to the Statesman of Hobart this past weekend in Geneva, NY. This was the Brewers first loss since September 19^th when they dropped a road contest 2-0 at Wesleyan University. On Wednesday, the team will face RPI on the road at 7:30 p.m.
 
Game Details
Opponent: RPI (8-5-1, 3-3-1 Liberty)
Links: (RPI Home Page) (Roster) (Schedule) (Stats)
Site: Troy, NY
Facility: ECAV Stadium
Date: October 25, 2017
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Game Coverage: (Live Stats) (Watch)
  
Last Time Out: The Brewers dropped an evenly matched contest by a score of 2-1 to Hobart College. After a quiet first half, things picked up early in the second when Nick Wigglesworth buried his first goal of the season at 49:49. Vassar responded just 91seconds later as Jose Novas found the back of the net for the 7^th time this season off an assist from fellow senior Noah Snider. The game remained tied until Patrick Schulz scored with just 41 seconds remaining in the game to put the Brewers away for good.

A Look At The Brewers (8-4-2, 5-1-1 Liberty League)

• Vassar has clinched a Liberty League playoff spot and currently sits in third place behind St. Lawrence and Hobart. If the Brewers are able to pick up four points over their next two games they will be guaranteed a home playoff game and two victories would get them the #1 seed in the tournament.
• The Brewers have yet to lose a home game this season so it appears taking care of business in the final week of the regular season could have a massive impact on their postseason performance.
• Vassar has done a much better job of converting their opportunities in the second half as they have scored nearly twice as many goals on just four more shots than they have in the first half.
• Novas continues to pace the Brewers offense as he leads the team in goals (7), assists (4), and points (18), which rank second best in the Liberty League. Making his production even more impressive is the fact that Novas is averaging less than two shots per game
• Hayden Van Brewer, Tyler Gilmore, Tim Collins, and Reid Smith have all started every game for Vassar and are the top four in minutes on the team all with over 1130.
• The Brewers are tied for third in the league in assists (23), revealing an unselfish team and a versatile roster of players who can contribute to the game, with 11 players contributing to the assist stat.
• Matt Marcelino has brought some consistency to the goalkeeper position for Vassar as he has started the past three games and been very reliable between the sticks.
• The Brewers defense come out strong in both halves of the game, making them stand out against the other teams in the league. They have only allowed six goals in the first half and eight in the second.

 
A Look At The Engineers (8-5-1, 3-3-1 Liberty League)

• RPI comes into their final week in a three-team race for the 4^th playoff spot with Clarkson and RIT. They sit just one point behind each in the standings and with wins in their final two games would clinch a playoff berth.
• The Engineers half by half production is similar to Vassar's as they have double the amount of goals in the second frame and also about 33% more shots.
• At home the Engineers have been much better overall with a 5-3 record but in the Liberty League they have been worse going 1-2 at home and 2-1-1 on the road.
• Offensively RPI is led by a trio of underclassmen, Austin Betterly, Dylan Confair, and Trevor Bisson, who all have double digit points on the season.
• The Engineers have had diverse offensive production as 14 different players have recorded at least one point this season.
• Sophomore goalie Matt LaBranche is following up his freshman campaign very nicely to the tune of seven wins, 57 saves, and a .781 save percentage in 13 starts this season.

Against RPI All-Time: The Brewers are 13-15-4 all-time against the Engineers but have picked up a win in the past three contests including a 3-1 victory in last season's Liberty League Playoffs.
 
Up Next: Vassar will finish its regular season and host Senior Day as it takes on Ithaca College on Saturday, October 28^th at 2:00 p.m. on Gordon Field