Saratoga Springs, NY – Junior
Mauricio Mejia (Miami, FL) scored two goals and classmate
Jacob Raphan (Oceanside, NY) recorded his second shutout of the season as the Vassar College Men's Soccer team knocked off #2 seed Skidmore in the Liberty League Championship Semifinal Round on Friday. With the win, Vassar will head to top seed #16 Hobart Sunday afternoon for the Championship Final.
Vassar improves to 11-5-3 overall on the season with its second straight win and fourth win in its last five outings. Skidmore dips to 10-4-3 overall.
How It Happened
- Vassar got all the scoring it would need in a six-and-a-half minute stretch in the first half.
- The Brewers got what proved to be the game winning goal in the 24th minute when Diego Pastor-Valverde (Durham, NC) played a ball along the endline from the corner that Mejia potted at 23:47 for the 1-0 lead.
- Mejia struck again with his second of the game in the 31st minute when he collected a deflected shot and rifled home the insurance goal at the 30:20 mark of the tilt.
- Vassar finished the first half with an 8-5 advantage in shots.
- Skidmore took the only corner kick of the opening 45 minutes.
- Raphan made a pair of stops heading into halftime for the Brewers.
- Skidmore netminder, Will Devall, turned aside three Vassar shots in the opening stanza.
- The Thoroughbreds upped the pressure in the second half, unleashing 10 shots, but only getting one attempt on frame.
- Raphan's lone save of the second half came on a Colin Goodhines attempt with just over a half hour left to play.
- Skidmore finished the second frame with a 10-3 advantage in shots and took the only four corner kicks after halftime.
- Devall made one more save for Skidmore in the second half.
For The Brewers
- Mejia scored his second and third goals of the season on Friday. After not scoring prior to Tuesday's First Round, Mejia now has three goals in the Brewers' last two games.
- With his scoring output on Friday, Mejia surges into third on the team in points with 10 on the strength of three goals and four assists.
- Pastor-Valverde picked up his fifth helper of the season, moving into a tie for fourth on the team in points with nine.
- Mejia led the team with five shots, including four on goal.
- Zapp Hotz (Ridgewood, NY) and Arden Tobolski (Chapel Hill, NC) each finished with two shots, including a shot on goal.
- Raphan made a trio of saves in picking up his second clean sheet of the season.
For Skidmore
- Devall suffered the loss in goal after making four stops.
- Quinn McInerney and Goodhines each led the team with four shots.
- Goodhines paced the Thoroughbreds with three shots on goal.
Game Statistics
- Skidmore outshot Vassar 15-11 overall.
- Vassar doubled up the Thoroughbreds in shots on goal, 6-3.
- Skidmore held a 5-0 edge in corner kicks.
- Fouls in the contest were even at 10-10.
What's Next
- Vassar heads to Genva, NY to take on #16 Hobart with a chance to win its second straight Liberty League title on Sunday.
