Vermont Takes Down Dartmouth

Catamounts Get Better of Old Rivalry

November 24, 2007

HANOVER, N.H. – A goal by Connor Tobin with 26 seconds left in regulation and two sensational saves by Roger Scully (East Lyme, Conn.) in the penalty kick round gave Vermont a first-round tournament victory over Dartmouth after a 1-1 regulation tie Saturday.

Tobin's goal tied the game at 1-1 and forced two scoreless overtime periods before the Catamounts could prevail, 4-3, in the penalty kicks in front of 2,034 fans at Burnham Field. Vermont (9-9-3) moves on to the second round to face Connecticut, the nation's third seed, Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. in Storrs, Conn.

Vermont goalkeeper Roger Scully made two big stops in PKs to defeat Dartmouth. (Photo cource: UVM Athletics)

The hard-fought game featured two goals, both on penalty kicks, with the first 54 seconds into the contest by Dartmouth's Michael Keats and Tobin's prior to the extra sessions. In the shootout, Scully robbed the first Big Green shooter, Craig Henderson, and snuffed Dani Rothenburg on Dartmouth's final attempt. Tobin drilled UVM's last penalty past keeper Justin Schwartz, who replaced injured started Sean Milligan, to move the Catamounts to the second round for the first time since 1989.

A hand-ball foul on the Catamounts just 54 seconds into the contest allowed Keats to put Dartmouth (11-4-3) on top, 1-0. The goal was the first given up by Scully and the UVM defense in seven-plus games, a total of 676:20. In the 23rd minute, Lee Stephane Kouadio picked up his second yellow card of the match forcing Vermont to play with 10 men the rest of the way against the nation's fourth-best defense.

The move energized the Catamounts and they had a pair of excellent scoring opportunities over the remainder of the first half. The best was a header by an unmarked Jordan Crasilneck from the doorstep that went just over the cross bar in the 26th minute.

Both teams had great chances in the second half and it appeared Dartmouth would ice the game in the waning stages of regulation. With Scully moving forward into the offense, Henderson's bid at an open net from 35 yards out rolled past the empty goal. Vermont pressed for the equalizer and Tobin's penalty kick was set up by a Dartmouth foul at the top of the penalty area. The junior back coolly deposited his first goal of the season past Schwartz to tie the match.

The shootout came after two scoreless 10-minute overtimes. Scully set the tone with his save on Henderson before the team's exchanged goals on their next three shots. UVM's Panos Georgiadis (Morrisville, Vt.) rattled UVM's fourth bid off the cross bar before Scully's save on Rothenberg. Tobin ended the match with another high blast as the America East Champion Catamounts, a team that at one point in the season was 4-9-0, move on to the second round of the NCAAs for the second time in program history.

In 110 minutes of play, Dartmouth out-shot Vermont, 20-10, and had a 13-10 edge in corner kicks. Scully finished with 11 saves to equal his career-high. Dartmouth starter Sean Milligan made three stops before leaving the game after regulation with an injury. Schwartz had on save in 20 minutes.