CANTON, N.Y. – Sophomore Zapp Hotz scored 54 seconds into the second half and senior goalkeeper Jacob Raphan stopped nine shots as Vassar College earned a 1-0 victory over seventh-ranked St. Lawrence to claim the program's second Liberty League Championship in the last three seasons. Raphan, who posted a pair of shutouts while making 11 saves, was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Performer.
With Sunday's victory, Vassar improves to 8-5-6 while earning its fourth straight win. St. Lawrence suffers just its second loss of the season and falls to 11-2-4.
How It Happened
- The two teams played a scoreless first half that saw St. Lawrence outshoot Vassar by a 10-7 margin.
- Raphan was busy prior to halftime, turning aside five St. Lawrence shots heading into the intermission to keep the Saints off the board.
- First half corner kicks were even at 4-4.
- Coming out of halftime, St. Lawrence had the first good look of the second half when Cam Moyers blasted a shot high over the goal just 22 seconds into the period.
- Just 32 seconds after the Moyers shot, Eli Torrey played a ball to Hotz from the top of the box with Hotz depositing his fourth goal of the season at 45:54 mark of the contest.
- Following the Hotz marker, St. Lawrence turned up the pressure to find the equalizer, but Raphan was equal to the task.
- Raphan made four stops following the Brewers' goal, including a pair of attempts from Moyers.
- Raphan's final stop came with just under 10 minutes left to play when he turned aside an attempt from Sammy Bothwell.
- St. Lawrence had one final push in the closing seconds, but a free kick fell harmlessly into the box at the horn.
- St. Lawrence finished the second half with a 13-4 advantage in shots and a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks.
- Raphan made four more saves after halftime to secure the shutout.
For The Brewers
- Hotz reached double-figures in points with his fourth goal of the season and also notched his second game winning goal of the year.
- Torrey assisted on his third goal of the year and picked up his seventh point of the season.
- Raphan posted his fourth straight shutout in goal and matched his season-high in saves with nine on the way to earning Most Outstanding Performer honors.
- Following Sunday's performance, Raphan has made 69 saves for the Brewers and holds a .784 save percentage and a 1.06 goals against average.
For The Saints
- Zach Amato made one save in goal for St. Lawrence.
- Grant Gilmer led all players in the game with five shots.
Game Statistics
- St. Lawrence outshot Vassar 23-11 overall and 9-2 in shots on goal.
- Corner kicks also went to the Saints by a 10-6 margin.
What's Next
- Vassar will learn its NCAA Tournament opponent on Monday at 11 a.m.
- St. Lawrence will also learn its NCAA Tournament fate Monday morning.