Vick Comes Up Clutch in Goal to Spark Keuka
For the second time in his Keuka College men's soccer career, freshman goalie Preston Vick (Kendall, NY/Kendall) stopped a crucial penalty kick, and Vick's big-time save helped spark the Storm to a 3-0 win over Penn State-Berks Sunday afternoon at the Jephson Community Athletic Complex.
Senior Nate Smith (Hilton, NY/Hilton) had a goal and two assists and Vick finished with four saves to earn his third win in four games and his first career shutout.
Senior John Mastrella (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena) and freshman Richie Weit (Rochester, NY/Churchville-Chili) each added goals in the win for the Storm (3-1, 1-1 NEAC).
"It was a huge win, if we drop this one today and go down two games in the conference, it would have been the worst-case scenario this weekend," said Smith, who earned first-team All-North Eastern Athletic Conference and third-team All-Region honors in 2011.
"But after yesterday's loss, we knew we had to win today and we played great."
Keuka led 1-0 nine minutes into the second half, when Berks' Derek Dellalba was taken down in the box. Dellalba lined up the potential game-tying goal and fired a shot towards the goal, but Vick dove to his left and made the clutch save.
It marked the second time in two games that Vick successfully stopped a penalty kick after the keeper had only one such penalty kick stop during his high school career.
"I trusted in myself and I trusted in my team. Penalty kicks are all about a leap of faith, you take the leap and you hope for the best," Vick said. "It was a huge swing in momentum and then we got our second goal and we're up 2-0 and that's the game right there. I guessed right and made the big stop and we got a big win and that's all that matters."
Less than four minutes later, the Green and Gold tacked on the all-important insurance goal. Smith, who staked Keuka to a 1-0 lead on a header in the 36th minute, played a cross into the box for Weit.
Weit left his feet and sent a header into the net for the first goal of his collegiate career for a 2-0 lead in the 58th minute.
Neither team scored in the game's first 35 minutes until Smith buried his third goal of the year. Freshman Ben Schreiber (Hilton, NY/Hilton) took a direct kick and hit Smith, who sent his header over the keeper's head for a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute.
Soon after, the Storm had a golden opportunity to take a 2-0 lead. Sophomore Austin Gerber (Rochester, NY/Churchville-Chili) dribbled past three defenders and ripped a shot from 12 yards out that struck the crossbar in the 39th minute.
Smith and Weit scored for a 2-0 lead, and Mastrella finished the scoring off a feed from Smith in the 81st minute. Smith made a one-touch pass to Mastrella, who scored into an empty net for his sixth goal of the season.
Keuka outshot Berks 12-5 and enjoyed a 6-2 edge in corner kicks.
The Storm hits the road for a 2 p.m. NEAC clash against Wells College on Saturday, Sept. 15.
