It was a tale of two halves for the University of Vermont men’s soccer. A dominant first half was followed by a second half that didn’t match the same quality as the first 45 minutes. In the end, the Catamounts picked up their third win of the season with a 3-1 victory over Lehigh University. “Great first half, but not what we wanted in the second half,” said UVM head coach Rob Dow. “We did get back in the win column, so I’m happy about that.”The Catamounts started out the gates first, scoring all three of their goals in the first half. Maximillian Kissel scored his third goal of the season, David Ismail, who tallied his first, and Thaddeus (TJ) Liquori, who tallied his first career goal. Liquori’s goal, which he shot up and over the Lehigh keeper, was a proud moment knowing he scored his first collegiate goal at the NCAA level. “It means a lot, man,” Liquori said. “Last year I was out, I had a back injury … it’s just been a long time. I’ve been waiting for this, and it feels really good, man.”The scoring prowess wore off for UVM in the second half, with Lehigh not surrendering a single goal for the rest of the game. Larrea Luciano made the game closer for the Mountain Hawks after tapping in a direct kick from Landon Bealer in front of the net, but Niklas Herceg and the Catamount defense prevented any more goals after that. Dow says the slowed scoring pace was caused by the Catamounts trying too much on offense, knowing his team has to keep the game simple.”In the second half, we did not take care of the ball,” Dow said. “We were trying some things that we just didn’t have to do. The space was wide, and we have good players there, so we gotta occupy that space and make better decisions with the ball.”Vermont will have plenty more chances at Virtue Field to right those wrongs with three more games to go in their latest homestand.Things will kick back up on Tuesday, Sept. 9, against Dartmouth College. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
It was a tale of two halves for the University of Vermont men’s soccer.
A dominant first half was followed by a second half that didn’t match the same quality as the first 45 minutes. In the end, the Catamounts picked up their third win of the season with a 3-1 victory over Lehigh University.
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“Great first half, but not what we wanted in the second half,” said UVM head coach Rob Dow. “We did get back in the win column, so I’m happy about that.”
The Catamounts started out the gates first, scoring all three of their goals in the first half. Maximillian Kissel scored his third goal of the season, David Ismail, who tallied his first, and Thaddeus (TJ) Liquori, who tallied his first career goal.
Liquori’s goal, which he shot up and over the Lehigh keeper, was a proud moment knowing he scored his first collegiate goal at the NCAA level.
“It means a lot, man,” Liquori said. “Last year I was out, I had a back injury … it’s just been a long time. I’ve been waiting for this, and it feels really good, man.”
The scoring prowess wore off for UVM in the second half, with Lehigh not surrendering a single goal for the rest of the game. Larrea Luciano made the game closer for the Mountain Hawks after tapping in a direct kick from Landon Bealer in front of the net, but Niklas Herceg and the Catamount defense prevented any more goals after that.
Dow says the slowed scoring pace was caused by the Catamounts trying too much on offense, knowing his team has to keep the game simple.
“In the second half, we did not take care of the ball,” Dow said. “We were trying some things that we just didn’t have to do. The space was wide, and we have good players there, so we gotta occupy that space and make better decisions with the ball.”
Vermont will have plenty more chances at Virtue Field to right those wrongs with three more games to go in their latest homestand.
Things will kick back up on Tuesday, Sept. 9, against Dartmouth College. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
