RSC MEN'S SOCCER TEAM ADVANCES TO EMPIRE 8 CHAMPIONSHIP, GATORS BEAT HOUGHTON, 1-0

Houghton, NY—Russell Sage College's men's soccer team travelled to No. 2 seeded Houghton College for the 2021 Empire 8 Semifinals. The match-up was a rematch of the two teams that faced off earlier in the week as Houghton beat RSC 1-0 in overtime on April 11 to earn the No. 2 seed. Seeded third, the Gators beat Houghton 1-0 on Friday night to earn a bid to the Empire 8 Championship. RSC will face top seeded St. JOhn Fisher College, which beat Nazareth, 1-0 in the other semifinal on Friday night.  The championship will take place on April 18 at St. John Fisher with a game time to be determined.

With the win, RSC is now 5-2 overall, while Houghton's season wraps with a record of 5-2.

The two teams played to a scoreless first half, before the Gators punched their way through the Highlanders' defense at the 66:37 mark. RSC's junior Christian Vaaulstuen (Lillestrom, Norway) put the Gators on the scoreboard on a pass from senior Jeaneste Pierre (Newburgh, NY/Newburgh Free Academy). Vaalstuen now has two game-winning goals on the season with three goals, while Pierre has nine points on four goals with an assist. On their careers, this duo continues to make their mark as Pierre now has 30 career points (13 g, 4a), while Vaalstuen has four goals, including three game-winning goals, with two assists and now has 10 points.

For the game, RSC's rookie keeper Anthony Molina (Brentwood, NY/Brentwood) made four saves in earning his second shutout of the year. Houghton's senior Caleb Loew (Center Valley, PA/Faith Christian) made three saves with one goal allowed.

The Gators are making their second appearance in the Empire 8 Championship Game after first appearing in 2017 only to fall to Stevens, 1-0 in the finals.

The 2021 Spring Soccer Championship finds both the Gator men and women in the soccer championships as the Gator women advanced on Thursday night as well.

                          Soccer Game Summary (Final)

            Russell Sage vs Houghton (4/16/2021 at Houghton, NY)

Russell Sage (5-2-0, 3-2-0) vs. Houghton (5-2-0, 4-1-0)      Date: 4/16/2021     Attendance: 100

Weather: 41 degrees and overcast with showers

Goals by period       1  2  Tot

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Russell Sage Men....  0  1 -  1

Houghton............  0  0 -  0

 SCORING SUMMARY:

  1.  66:37 SAGEM Christian Vaalstuen (Jeaneste Pierre) - *

 Shots: Russell Sage Men 8, Houghton 13

 Saves: Russell Sage Men 4 (Anthony Molina 4), Houghton 3 (Caleb Loew  3)

                                                                         - 30-