NEW PALTZ, NY — The SUNY New Paltz men’s soccer team notched another tally in the win column this afternoon with a 6-4 victory over local rival Vassar College.
Vassar (7-6) opened up an afternoon of scoring on a penalty kick, 11:30 into the contest. Junior defenseman Nate Malinowski (Livonia, NY) attempted and converted the penalty kick past sophomore goalie Jake Lammers (Highland, NY) to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead.
The Hawks (10-9) did not stay down for long. In fact they scored the next three goals of the half. At the 27-minute mark, senior midfielder Chris Daly (Washingtonville, NY) found sophomore forward Greg Foss (Queensbury, NY) all alone in front of the net. The sure-footed Foss blasted the ball to the back of the net to tie the game, 1-1. With under seven minutes remaining in the half; Daly found another teammate, senior defenseman Bobby Monahan (Central Islip, NY), who gave SUNY New Paltz a 2-1 lead. Thirty seconds later, Monahan grabbed a lose ball and lobbed a shot over the head of Brewer sophomore goalie Lloyd Becker (Pittsburgh, PA) to give the Hawks a 3-1 edge. Vassar remained aggressive and closed the gap to a one-goal deficit. Junior midfielder Michael Kennett (Poughkeepsie, NY) scored his first of two goals with under three minutes to play in the period to cut the Hawks’ lead to 3-2 at the break.
The scoring continued in the second half and as in the opening period, the Hawks would out do the Brewers. Ten minutes into the second half, senior midfielder Bryan Smith (Washingtonville, NY) sent an indirect kick in the direction of Monahan who completed his hat-trick by putting a shot through the feet of several Brewer defenders and into the net giving SUNY New Paltz a 4-2 lead. Riding the momentum, the Hawks extended their lead to 5-2 thirteen seconds later when Smith hooked up with Foss off the face-off.
The Hawks would get their sixth goal of the afternoon from Daly with 25 minutes remaining in the game. The Brewers got two tallies before the final horn on Hawk senior goalie Alan Kuusisto (Pelham, MA), who entered in relief at the 20-minute mark.
SUNY New Paltz men’s soccer team will complete their regular season this Saturday, October 30th, at 1:00 p.m. when they host Mount Saint Mary’s College.
