Vermont Holds Off Dartmouth

Catamounts Finish Non-League Schedule with Win

October 9, 2008

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Goals by Connor Tobin and Patrick Alonis and a sturdy defensive effort allowed Vermont to hold off Dartmouth, 2-1, in men's soccer action Wednesday afternoon at Centennial Field.

The hard-fought contest between the longtime rivals was a rematch of last season's NCAA Tournament First Round game. Tobin, who scored in that game to force overtime, this time opened the scoring 6:16 into the game, nodding home a corner kick with assists going to Ryan White (Eugene, Ore.) and Jordan Crasilneck (Eugene, Ore.). It is the fifth game this season that the Catamounts have scored within the first 10 minutes of the contest.

Alonis made it 2-0 in the 58th minute picking up his first career goal. Lee Stephane Kouadio made a great individual effort driving down the right side past a defender and his low drive from point blank range was stopped by Dartmouth keeper Sean Milligan. Milligan could not corral the rebound on the hard shot and it went right to an unmarked Alonis on the left post who tapped it home.

The Big Green rallied late in the contest and a goal by Lucky Mkosana with 2:56 left cut the Vermont lead in half. Dartmouth increased its pressure for the equalizer but did not have a clear shot at goal as the Cats held on for the win, their third this season against a team that appeared in last year's NCAA Tournament.

UVM outshot Dartmouth, 13-10, for the game and corner kicks were even at 3-3. Vermont goalie Roger Scully (East Lyme, Conn.) made four saves as did Milligan for the Big Green (5-3-1).

"I felt we grew a lot as a team during our tough non-league schedule," said Vermont head coach Jesse Cormier. "The biggest thing is that we improved and gained some confidence before we get into the tough America East play. A month ago we may not have been able to beat a good team like Dartmouth."

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