Men’s Soccer : Vermont Tops Merrimack 3-0

Posted on by George Commo

Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

BURLINGTON –– In the first ever meeting between the two programs, the UVM men’s soccer team walked away with a 3-0 victory over Merrimack on Saturday night at Virtue Field. The Catamounts improve to 4-3 while the Warriors drop to 2-3.

COACH’S QUOTE
“It was great to get back to Virtue Field and get a shutout,” head coach Rob Dow said. “We kept producing on the attack and we saw some more chemistry up front. It’s exciting to see and our defense deserves a lot of credit as well.”

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Catamounts produced the lone goal of the first half in the 39th minute. UVM drew a hand ball in front of the net off a corner kick. On the ensuing penalty kick, Ívar Örn Árnason drove the go-ahead score into the bottom right corner of the net.
Vermont doubled its lead three minutes into the second half. After a Warrior defender saved a ball from going out-of-bounds near the UVM bench, Jon Arnar Barðdal took control and dribbled up the right side and dished a cross into the middle of the box. Rasmus Tobinski finished the attack with a line drive into the left side of the net.
The Green and Gold were on the attack again in the 80th minute with a Frosti Brynjólfsson breakaway. The freshman tracked down a feed just past midfield and sprinted towards the six-yard box. After working around Merrimack goalie Lucas Rezende (3 saves), Brynjólfsson tried to sneak a shot inside of the near post but a Warrior defender made a diving save on the goal line.
Tobinski added his second goal of the match in the 88th minute. Joe Morrison marched up the middle of the field and sent a through ball for the freshman, who fired a strike past Rezende.

GAME NOTES
Aron Runarsson stopped five shots and picked up his 22nd-career win, moving him into a seventh-place tie on UVM’s all-time list.
Tobinski racked up a game-high seven shots. The Kiel, Germany native has scored five goals in the last four matches.
The game was Vermont’s annual Rally Against Cancer Game presented by Inspired Closets.
With the victory, the Cats Win, Community Wins campaign and Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to Make-A-Wish Vermont; bringing this year’s total to 63 wins and $6,300.

WHO’S NEXT
Vermont will use the week off to prepare for Stony Brook as conference play gets underway next Saturday (Sept. 28). The opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Fans can catch all of the action on AmericaEast.TV.