POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – The No. 6 RIT (6-9-2) men's soccer team survived and advanced to the Liberty League semifinal, advancing 4-3 on penalty kicks over No. 3 Vassar College (9-3-2) Tuesday morning.
The game finished tied 1-1 after 110 minutes of action. RIT goalie Will Sokol saved Vassar's Nolan Alexander's penalty try, and Jared Short converted his attempt to send the Tigers to the semifinals.
Shots were 17-24 in favor of Vassar. The Tigers fired six shots on goal to nine for the Brewers. Vassar took four corner kicks to two for RIT.
Simon Garno scored a goal, and Mark-Vincent Sansone had an assist. Will Sokol got the start in net for RIT, making eight saves.
Jonathan Bow scored for Vassar, and Austin Lukasik had an assist. Eric Wnorowski made five saves in net for the Brewers.
RIT took a 1-0 lead on Garno's goal in the 18th minute. Sansone flicked a ball off a corner kick back toward the Vassar goal-mouth. Garno elevated and headed a shot into the net for his eighth goal of the season.
Vassar answered Bow's goal in the 25th minute. He took a pass from Lukasik and broke in one Sokol, beating him with a shot from 10-yard out.
Late in the second half Nick Simone had a chance for the Tigers, firing a shot on target inside the final two minutes of regulation that Wnorowski had to punch aside.
After two scoreless overtime periods, Eamon Geraghty converted Vassar's first penalty kick. Garno answered for RIT to make it 1-1. Ryan Lane scored for Vassar, but Randy Dickersbach answered for RIT to make it 2-2.
Lukasik and Nick Simone each scored to make it 3-3. Barrat Heitman missed Vassar's next attempt, and Wnorowski made a save on Sansone's try. Alexander had a chance to give the Brewers the advantage, but Sokol came up with the big stop. Short buried his chance to send the Tigers to the semifinals.
The Tigers will take on No. 2 Hobart College in the Liberty League semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 6:30 p.m. on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The Statesmen beat RIT 3-2 on Sept. 25 at Hobart.