Sophomore Gary Stom scored on the fifth penalty kick to lift Rochester to a 2-1 shootout victory over Vassar College in the ECAC Soccer Playoffs at Edwin Fauver Stadium.
The Yellowjackets (13-4-2) advance to the semifinals of the ECAC Northeast Regional Championships. Rochester will play second-seeded SUNY Plattsburgh on Saturday at Hobart College. The Yellowjackets have won three consecutive ECAC titles and have beaten Plattsburgh in the last two championship games.
Vassar finishes its season at 10-4-1. The Brewers controlled much of the first half and took a 1-0 lead just nine minutes into the match. Nate Malinowski took a long free kick from midfield. He lifted the ball to the far (left) post where Court Steiner outjumped the Rochester defenders and headed it into the upper right hand corner of the goal.
The Brewers pressed to extend the lead, but could not. Aldis Butler came the closest. With 12:30 left in the first half, his breakaway was tipped wide for a corner kick by Rochester goalkeeper Brian Minehan. Two minutes later, Butler headed a free kick from Malinowski over the crossbar.
Rochester pressed for an equalizer in the second half. Steve Maltzman hit the crossbar in the 48th minute. Midway through the period, Damien Hallatt beat a defender down right wing and crossed the ball into the goalmouth where three teammates lurked. But the Vassar defense cleared it for a corner kick.
With 12:54 left in the game, Maltzman saved a ball on the end line and pulled it across the goalmouth. Rochester's Mike Springer outjumped a defender to head it inside the right post, tying the score.
When neither team could break the deadlock, it went to penalty kicks. Minehan saved Vassar's first two tries – he stopped Butler going to the low left on the first round – and saved a shot for the upper left hand corner on round two by Joseph Petruccelli.
Vassar goalkeeper Paul Connors saved a shot by Rochester's Ross D'Eredita on the first round. Nate Micklos scored for the Yellowjackets to give Rochester a 1-0 lead through two rounds.
Each of the next four shooters scored – Steiner and Amandeep Kalsi for Vassar -, Springer and Nick Wheeler for Rochester. The Yellowjackets led, 3-2 after four rounds.
On round five, Roberto Wortman's shot for the lower left was saved by Minehan and the Yellowjackets raced on the field to celebrate. The save was waved off and Wortman awarded another shot because Minehan had moved forward before the ball was struck. Wortman scored on the re-try, driving it to the lower right hand corner.
That left it up to Stom and he scored to the lower right corner.
