Devils Advance to NCAA Second Round With 2-1 Win
(Montclair, N.J.) – The Dickinson College men's soccer team, making its third appearance in the NCAA playoffs, opened the tournament with a 2-1 win over Vassar College on Saturday afternoon. Host Montclair State showed some offense in the other match-up, blanking Framingham State, 5-0. Dickinson and Montclair will square-off on Sunday at 1:00 pm.
The Red Devils, ranked 16th in the latest NSCAA National Coaches poll, improve to 11-4-5 overall with the win. Dickinson struck first on a set piece as junior Aidan Gaughran (Brunswick, Maine/Brunswick) scored on a header off the serve from classmate Nicolas Tierno (Sicklerville, N.J./Timber Creek Regional) in the 23rd minute.
Vassar wasted little time netting an equalizer as Sam McCarthy evened the game off an assist from Dante Varotsis, less than two minutes later. The teams went in to halftime with the score still locked, 1-1.
The Devils' leading scorer would come through once again as sophomore Javier Mena (San Salvador, El Salvador/The American School) placed a shot in the upper left corner, finishing an assist from classmate Jamie Martin (Chevy Chase, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase) in the 67th minute. The Devils would hold for the remainder of the contest, posting the third NCAA win in program history.
The Devils held a slim advantage in shots, 11-8, while had a 5-4 edge in corners. Junior Cody Hickok (Redding, Conn./Joel Barlow) made three saves in the nets for Dickinson while Ryan Grimme finished with a pair of saves for Vassar (11-6-3).
