BENNINGTON, Vt. – Southern Vermont College dropped the championship match of its 2018 LINAO Mountaineer Invitational Sunday afternoon as the visiting Curry College Colonels won by a 2-1 margin at Everett Field.
In a game in which there was no shortage of intensity and physical play, Curry got on the board with just 12 seconds to go in the first half. The Colonels got an insurance tally in the 61st minute, but the Mountaineers kept it close by getting a goal of their own with 13 minutes left on the clock. SVC could not come up with the equalizer, however, as Curry closed out its first meeting with Southern Vermont since 2008.
The Mountaineers (1-4) are back at home for their next game as SVC is set to host in-state rival Castleton University on Wednesday for a 3 p.m. start.Curry (4-1-1) visits Becker College the same day for a 4 p.m. kickoff.
Southern Vermont sophomore Nick Langat (Silver Spring, Md.) sent home his third goal of the year for the hosts while freshman keeper Diego Uquillas (Erie, Pa.) had seven saves in the loss (1-4) for the Mountaineers.
Curry freshman Will Longo (Ellington, Conn.) made a spectacular move and capped it with a finish for his first of the year to come in the waning seconds of the first half, and junior Nick Vreeland (Kensington, Conn.) headed home what proved to be the game winner for his first of the season. Colonel junior goalie Paul DeMaio (North Andover, Mass.) came up with five stops between the pipes in the win (4-1-1).
Southern Vermont was selective in the opening period with all four Mountaineer shots being on frame. The biggest save for DeMaio, however, came in the 19th minute when Langat was awarded a penalty kick. The Curry keeper leapt the correct way and made a fully-extended save to his right to keep the game scoreless.
With the match looking like it was going to head into halftime at 0-0, Longo came up with a goal which looked to surprise even himself. As the ball was tipped towards his back, the Colonel swung his leg backwards and flicked it over his head—and the head of an SVC defender; Longo then got on the end of it and laced his first touch into the upper-right corner to give the visitors the edge.
About 15 minutes into the second stanza, Vreeland ran through the box and got on the end of a free kick taken by junior Nolan Reimondo (Portland, Conn.) on the left side of the penalty area. Vreeland headed it into the back of the cage to make it 2-0 and give Curry some breathing room.
The Mountaineers persisted, though, and continued to push to get on the board. Their advances paid off in the 78th minute when Langat collected the ball on the left edge of the pitch in the attacking zone, turned and fired a long shot into the right side of the frame to get his team within one.
The remainder of the game was peppered with fouls from both sides as SVC looked to tie it while the Colonels fought to secure the win. Two cautions were issued in the final 2:12 while no shots were taken after Langat's strike, and Curry was able to celebrate the Invitational Championship.
(Game Recap Courtesy of Southern Vermont College Sports Information)