Men's Soccer Undefeated Through Four Games

Lyndon, VT ~ Look out, the Bobcats are coming.  

The Paul Smith's College Men's Soccer Team earned back-to-back wins in Vermont over the weekend and are absolutely dominating anyone who dares take the pitch agianst them.  

On Monday, the Bobcats stung the Vermont State University at Lyndon Hornets 6-0.  It didn't take the visitors from the Adirondacks long to assert their dominance and break the early-game press from the hosts.  At just the 2:30 mark the Bobcats found an outlet in the middle of the field as Riley Shone (Rochester, NY) made a run to get behind the Hornets back line.  With a little bit of space, Shone played the ball across the goal to an on-rushing Nick Grover (Batavia, NY), who opened the scoring and make it 1-0.  Cazmir Couble (Spofford, NH) was untested in the first half, while the Lyndon keeper was occupied all day making acrobatic save after acrobatic save, registering eight stops in both the first and second halves.

It wasn't until the 56th minute that the Bobcats would break the game open as Nathan Wiley (Wareham, MA) buried a left-footed rocket in the back of the net while under pressure.  Eight minutes later, in the 63rd minute, Nick Grover rose above every Hornet defender and delivered a header on goal, striking the frame with such force that it rebounded back across the goal mouth, directly to the foot of Nathan Wiley, who buried his second left-footed blast of the game, making it 3-0 Bobcats.  

Trailing 3-0 and desperate for a goal, the Hornets pressed forward and generated their first shot on goal with a corner kick.  The Bobcats were able to clear, but the Hornets continued to press forward and were able to draw a dubious penalty as a forward slipped into the box and got the call. 

Enter Cazmir Couble. 

The poise and anticipation that he showed as he dove left and saved the penalty kick is one of the reasons why Couble and the Bobcats haven't allowed a goal against all season.  In fact, that shot on goal in the 69th minute would be the last one the Hornets would muster all game.  

Just two minutes later, Wiley got loose again in the box and played a ball across to Zane Busch (Carthage, NY) who would make it 4-0 to completely deflate and stifle the Hornet surge.  Three minutes later, Liam Curthoys (Rhinebeck, NY) came onto the ball and danced through numerous defenders to pound home a goal of his own and get in on the action while putting the game well out of reach at 5-0.

The final goal came in the 83rd minute after a quick passing combination down the sideline as Gabe Freebern (North Creek, NY) beat his man and played the ball across the Keith Vivlamore (Red Creek, NY) who slid it to Wiley to complete the sophomore's first hat trick of his collegiate career and put an exclamation point on the 6-0 win.

The Bobcat midfield was dominant as usual as they controlled the pace of play and created chance after chance through Curthoys, Wiley, Vivlamore, Cody Hanson (Fonda, NY), and Adam Holt (Red Creek, NY).  The Bobcats also got big contributions from their wide forward players Shone, Busch, Freebern, and Bryce Calderwood (Liverpool, NY) and from their outside backs Tim Romero (Pueblo, CO) and Jacob Butler (New Gloucester, NY) and newcombers Kolin Bijeaux (Beaux Bridge, LA) and Luke Mallin (Poland, NY) as Mallin saw his first action on the pitch this season.  Center backs Kagan Hance (Chester, VT) and Agus Putrawan (Gili Trawangan, Indonesia) were strong once again in the Bobcats' fourth-straight shutout, as was first-year player Mason Rumble (Watertown, NY).  

With the win the Bobcats move to 3-0-1 on the season and host Word of Life on Tuesday, September 10th at 7pm.

You can follow the men's soccer team on Instagram at @paulsmithsmsoc or follow the general athletics account at @smitty_nation for scores, highlights, pictures, and much more!

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At Paul Smith's College, it's about the experience. As the only four-year institution of higher education located in the Adirondack Park in upstate New York, Paul Smith's provides real-world, hands-on learning in fields such as business and hospitality, culinary management, forestry, environmental sciences, and natural resources. We can draw on industries and resources available in our backyard while preparing students for successful careers anywhere. Our community of resourceful, enterprising, supportive, and adventurous individuals collectively provides experiential education, student support in the classroom and beyond, and meaningful opportunities for our alumni. We pride ourselves on research and advocacy on issues that improve our planet and the lives of the people who inhabit it. Learn more at www.paulsmiths.edu.