POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – It's the first day of fall and with it, the first day of Liberty League action for the Vassar men's soccer team. The fair weather treated the Brewers (5-2-0, Liberty 1-0-0) well, downing the RIT Tigers (4-2-0, 0-1-0 Liberty) 1-0 at Gordon Field.

Vassar controlled possession for a majority of the first half after an early midfield battle. A header close-goal by Mattie Mrlik (San Francisco, CA) at the 5^th minute foreshadowed the Brewers' offensive showing, but Tigers' goalkeeper Will Sokol made the save. Toby Stansell (Seattle, WA) rattled off two shots soon after, but RIT's 6'3" goalie appeared to have complete control of the net.

The trio of Kevin Baliat (Eldoret, Kenya), Jonathan Bow (San Francisco, CA) and Mrlik portrayed perfect chemistry on the front line with pinpoint passes through the Tigers' defense all throughout the first half. In what appeared to be the Brewers' opening goal, Mrlik found Henrik Olsson (Tokyo, Japan) on the breakaway, but an offside call negated the score.

Momentum swung at the 34^th minute after Alec Yeaney (Marietta, GA) subbed in for Reis Kissel (Mercer Island, WA). The sophomore defender only took two minutes to take advantage of his playing time after Mrlik crossed the ball perfectly from the left side. A wide-open Yeaney was patiently waiting and hit the shot in net from five-yards out to put Vassar up 1-0 at the 36^th minute.

"We connected really well today," said head coach Andy Jennings. "I think if you look at the goal, it really exemplifies what we try to do in the way we play. We did a great job of keeping possession. If we've got the ball, then they can't attack us."

The Brewers hung on in the second, outshooting the Tigers 14-1 in the half and 25-4 in the game. Vassar had plenty of chances to push their lead with Baliat doing all he could to break the RIT defense. Early in the half Mrlik passed the ball from the midfield through two RIT defenders to a streaking Baliat who only had Sokol to beat. The goalkeeper held tough, making saves on both of the forward's attempts.

A Tigers' comeback proved to be in vain with the Brewers breaking up any passes and not allowing a single shot in the final ten minutes.   

Will Marment (Stamford, CT) picked up his third shutout of the season with one save. Sokol recorded nine saves for the Tigers.

Vassar continues Liberty League action by travelling to Bard on Wed. Sept. 26 for a 7 p.m. match.