Box Score

TROY, N.Y. – Backed by two goals for senior forward Gary Sroka (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men’s soccer team defeated Vassar College, 3-0, at Harkness Field this afternoon. The Red Hawks improve to 6-4-3 overall and 2-2-1 in the Liberty League, while the Brewers drop to 6-4-1 and 1-3-1 in conference play.

Sroka started things off in 19th minute, as his shot beat Brewers goalie Jason Cetel (Cherry Hill, NY/Cherry Hill East), low and to his right, from just inside the 18-yard area. Aaron Gundle (Portland, OR/Lincoln) slipped a short pass across the top of the box to Sroka, who gave Rensselaer a, 1-0, lead.

Seconds before the first half expired, the Red Hawks had an excellent opportunity to add to their advantage, but senior Sal Mangano (Syracuse, NY/Westhill) saw his point-blank effort stopped by Cetel.

A minute after flicking a header off the crossbar, Sroka struck again in the 67th minute. His shot, this time from about 20 yards out, was ripped into the upper right-hand corner of the net to give Rensselaer a, 2-0, edge.

Gundle set up freshman midfielder Benjamin Poser (Scotts Valley, CA/Scotts Valley) from a corner kick for his second assist of the afternoon. The cross was bent into the area and bounced off of a couple of bodies before finding Poser, who poked it inside the near post to run RPI’s lead to 3-0.

Red Hawks goalkeeper Alex Penny (Northport, NY/Northport) made four saves in picking up his fifth shutout of the season. His record is now 5-2-1. Cetel, who falls to 3-1-1, stopped eight shots for Vassar.

Rensselaer is back in action this weekend when it hosts Skidmore on Saturday (4pm) and Union on Sunday (2pm). Vassar will host the Dutchmen on Saturday (2pm) and the Thoroughbreds on Sunday (2pm).