Lyndonville, VT - The Northern Vermont University-Lyndon men's soccer team opened up the 2019 campaign by hosting Vermont Technical College in the opening round of the inaugural Northern Vermont University Invitational.  Neither team could find the back of the net over 90 minutes, resulting in a 0-0 tie.  Fisher College defeated NVU-Johnson, 2-1, in today's second game.

Game 1 - NVU-Lyndon 0, Vermont Tech 0

The Hornets got much the better of the play in the opening half, outshooting the visiting Knights, 9-0.  Lyndon was unable to capitalize, however, and the two teams played on much more even terms in the second stanza, with VTC holding a slim 6-5 advantage in shots.  The Knights held a slim 51%-49% advantage in possession time, but the Hornets spent much more of their time with the ball in the attacking end.

Sam Ognenoff (Brattleboro, VT), Garrick Webster (Terryville, CT), and Quinlan Peer (Saranac Lake, NY) each got off three shots for the Hornets.  Caleb Derbyshire (Barton, VT) was called upon to make three saves, while his VTC counterpart, Jonathan Alvin, made four stops.

Game 2 - Fisher 2, NVU-Johnson 1

In the 66th minute, Fisher's Andree Molina found Jonathan Collins and Colins converted to break a 1-1 tie.  The Falcons held off the Badgers from there to come away with the win.  Leonardo Mildor's left footed ball past Johnson keeper Zach Blaser had given the Falcons a 1-0 lead at intermission.  Aibek Allan Bijanov's unassisted goal just over seven minutes into the second half tied the game and set the stage for Collins' heroics.

The physical contest was tightly played throughout.  Johnson had somewhat the better of the play, outshooting Fisher, 12-10, and controlling the ball for slightly more than half of the time.  Falcon keeper Christopher Garcia made five saves in earning the win, while Blaser made four stops in net for the Badgers.

The Invitational will continue on Saturday afternoon.  Johnson will take on Vermont Tech at noon, with Lyndon and Fisher to follow at 2:30.