Men's Soccer

BENNINGTON, Vt. - The Southern Vermont athletic program has had a near-complete overhaul of the coaching staff since new Athletic Director Ben Kozik came in last year.  After one full-year of recruiting, the program is beginning to see positive results with three players taking home New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) awards this week.

The Player of the Week award in the NECC for men's soccer was Southern Vermont sophomore goal keeper Aaron Eschler (Gloversville, N.Y./Broadalbin-Perth HS) who was the key factor in a loss free week for the Mountaineers, going 1-0-1. Eschler had not allowed a goal against opponents in 200 minutes of play for the week, extending his streak to 239 minutes. He had 20 saves while facing 29 shots, 20 of which were on goal. The Mountaineers tied Bard 0-0 in double overtime action and defeated NECC foe Elms 1-0 to win their first conference match of the year.

Head Coach Tim Penrod, "Both awards come from the hard work of the entire team.  Neither Nick nor Aaron could have been as successful as they were this week without the group of guys around them. While their individual statistics speak for themselves, it's important to remember they aren't doing this alone."

Freshman Mountaineer forward Nick Haggerty (Wynantskill, N.Y./Averill Park HS), who had won the Player of the Week award two weeks ago, won the Rookie of the Week this week in NECC men's soccer. Haggerty contributed to a conference victory over Elms 1-0 when he netted the unassisted game winning goal against Elms in the 76th minute of play. He also played exceptional ball against Bard College in their 0-0 tie earlier in the week.

"All of these winners are first year students," said Kozik.  "It just goes to show the type of student-athlete we are beginning to recruit here at SVC."

At the annual Mountaineer Cross Country Invitational, SVC freshman Seth Chase (Winchester, N.H./Keene HS) garnered the Mountaineers first NECC cross country Rookie of the Week award after a 9^th place finish out of 59 runners with a time of 31:15.62. He was the first NECC harrier across the finish line and helped his team to a 4^th place finish with 123 points against six other schools.

Men's soccer takes on Lesley College on Saturday, October 4^th. Kickoff is at 12:30 p.m. under the lights. The Mountaineer cross country will be competing in the Vermont State Championships at Castleton State College Saturday, October 4. The men's race is at 11:00 a.m. and the women's is at 12:00 p.m.