The New York University men's soccer team made the program's first visit to Gordon Field in Poughkeepsie on Sunday, August 31, for a meeting with the #23 Vassar College Brewers.
Vassar tallied a pair of goals in the first half, with the Violets drawing level after the break. An expertly-placed corner kick with just over seven minutes to play was ultimately the difference as the Brewers scored a 3-2 victory.
Vassar peppered the Violets' backline throughout the opening 45 minutes, totaling 11 shots to NYU's two shots. The Brewers put five of those shots on target and forced Violets' keeper
Ludvig Hilberts into action for three saves.
The hosts beat Hilberts twice in that stretch. Vassar's Arden Tobolski battled for possession and centered a ball from the far end line in the 16th minute that found Jared Fiske from point-blank range. His goal gave the Brewers an early 1-0 lead.
Just over three minutes later, the Brewers doubled their advantage. Tobolski launched a free kick from near midfield that Mauricio Mejia dribbled into the 18-yard box. Mejia fired a shot at Hilberts and the rebound was finished off by Zapp Hotz to give Vassar a 2-0 lead.
That two-goal lead held into the final 15 minutes but NYU's
Terra Nagai put the visitors on the board in the 77th minute. The senior took advantage of an errant pass and went streaking towards the net on a breakaway and was fouled from behind in the box by Vassar's Koray Tekin. Nagai converted the penalty, his first of the season, to pull the Violets to a 2-1 score.
The Violets leveled the match two minutes later when the visitors earned a free kick just outside of the Vassar box. Much like in NYU's home opener two days prior,
Ethan Zarka stood over the ball and floated one to the back post, beating the keeper and tying the game at two-all.
Both sides were motivated to find a winner in the final ten minutes but Tobolski served up the deciding goal in the 83rd minute. His corner kick found Fiske at the back post, who headed the ball across the frame to put the Brewers ahead 3-2.
NYU had three chances in the final minutes, but none found the back of the net and Vassar held for the win.
The Violets will look to bounce back on Saturday, Sept. 6 when they face a road test against Rutgers-Camden at 1:00 p.m.
