TROY, N.Y. – Junior
Nathaniel Gunderson scored a pair of second half goals to lead the 20th-ranked Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's soccer team to a 3-1 victory over Vassar College, this evening in the Liberty League Semifinals at East Campus Stadium. With the win, the Engineers improve to 12-3-3 overall and advance to Saturday's league title game at 11th-ranked St. Lawrence. The Brewers conclude their season with a 11-6-2 overall mark.
Following a scoreless opening half in which RPI out-shot the Brewers 3-1, the Engineers got on the board in the 52nd minute. Gunderson (Olympia, WA/Tumwater) went on a driving run down the middle of the field before rifling a left-footed shot inside the right post for his first of goals on the night.
In the 77th minute, Gunderson cleaned up a rebound to make it 2-0 to the hosts. Senior
Tim Terrezza (New Providence, NJ/New Providence) found some space on the left side of the penalty area, where he took a shot that was stopped by Vassar sophomore goalkeeper Adam Warner (Tenafly, NJ/Tenafly). The ball fell to the edge of the six, where Gunderson was able to run in and tap home his fifth of the season.
Senior captain
Matt Koziol (Poughkeepsie, NY/Franklin D. Roosevelt) buried a free kick in the 84th minute to put the game out of reach for the Engineers. Taking a spot kick from a yard outside the penalty area on the left flank, he curled a right-footed shot inside the left post, catching Warner in the middle of the net.
The Brewers pulled one goal back in the 90th minute, capitalizing on a free kick chance. Sophomore Jordan Palmer (Woodland Hills, CA/Agoura) was played in the box on the left side, before he picked out senior Zach Nasipak (Chandler, AZ/Hamilton) in the middle for the easy tap-in goal.
Rensselaer senior goalkeeper
Rob Dewald (Arlington, VA/Washington-Lee) made two saves to improve to 10-3-2, while Warner recorded one stop.
The Engineers travel to Canton, N.Y. on Saturday to face St. Lawrence in the Liberty League Championship game (TBD). The winner receives an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
