Men's Soccer Eliminated from NECC Championship
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The fifth-seeded Southern Vermont College men's soccer team netted two goals in the first half and held on for the final 45 minutes to come away with a 2-1 victory over fourth-seeded Mitchell College in Wednesday's NECC Championship quarterfinals match-up at Alumni Field.
Southern Vermont (8-10-0 overall) advances to the semifinals and will play at top-seeded Lesley University (15-2-0 overall) on Friday, November 5 at 8 p.m. The game will be held at Edward Field at Buckingham, Browne & Nichols in Cambridge, Mass.
Junior Ben Naaktgeboren scored both goals for the Mountaineers, improving his season total to eight. The first goal came in the 18th minute when junior Connor Murray served a ball into the box from midfield. Freshman Cohen Bond flicked the ball across the front of the goal to Naaktgeboren, who finished into an open net to put the Mountaineers up 1-0.
Naaktgeboren's second tally came in the 26th minute off a feed from junior Greg Gilmore, who delivered a long pass up the middle of the field from his defensive end. With Mitchell goalkeeper Kevin Woodford racing to the ball, Naaktgeboren got to the pass a second quicker and tapped a slow roller by the incoming rush and into the goal.
Mitchell had opportunities in the first half but couldn't get a shot past goalkeeper Aaron Eschler. Senior Jaime Serrano was turned away in the seventh minute on a blast from in front of the net, and junior James Gleason nearly put the Mariners on the board in the 39th minute but had his attempt punched into the crossbar.
Southern Vermont led 2-0 at the break and protected the lead for most of the second half. Mitchell kept up its attack, however, and finally broke through in the 72nd minute on a goal by sophomore Michael Berthiaume. He fired a shot from outside the box that deflected off a defender and found its way into the back of the net. The goal was his fourth of the year.
The Mariners took five shots in the final 17 minutes of the contest but put only one attempt on goal. Eschler finished with six saves against 18 shots while Woodford made four saves against 15 shots.
Mitchell finished its season with an overall record of 7-8-2.