Posted by Katie Peverada
On Wednesday night, the Skidmore men's soccer team was playing in the program's first playoff game in six years, an accomplishment in its own right. Now, they're headed back to the Liberty League Championship after shutting out defending champion Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 2-0.
An eighth minute goal from Adam Beek '15 would be the only goal Skidmore would need, but Brock Bakewell was able to ice the game in the 69th minute with a second goal.
Skidmore put the pressure on RPI early, earning two corner kicks in the first eight minutes. The second kick would prove to be fruitful for the Thoroughbreds, as Beek was able to curl it untouched directly into the RPI goal.
With the score 1-0, Skidmore continued to pressure the RPI defense, registering six shots in the first half. Another corner kick in the the 20th minute almost made it 2-0 when another Beek kick found Jesse Evensky '16 on the back post, but RPI goalie Rob Dewald and the RPI defense were able to block the shot and clear the ball.
RPI came out firing in the second half, putting up 10 shots, but Eli Kisselbach '16 and the Skidmore defense were able to keep the ball out of the net.
The Skidmore offense, though, was able to put up a second goal in the 69th minute when Bakewell headed a cross from Alex Hodor-Lee '14 past Dewald. Hodor-Lee carried the ball down the right wing and sent a ball into the box that found the head of Bakewell.
The Engineers would not go down easily over the final 20 minutes of the game, putting up four shots in three minutes. But the shots were unable to find the back of the net, as two missed the net, one was blocked, and Kisselbach took care of the fourth, to preserve his fifth shutout of the year. Kisselbach finished with five saves, and Dewald finished with four.
RPI outshot Skidmore 15 to 11 and had five corner kicks to Skidmore's four, but the Thoroughbreds were able to put a two where the Engineers weren't able to put anything.
The Thoroughbreds now head to St. Lawrence on Saturday, a place they had success two weeks ago when they handed the nationally-ranked Saints their only home loss of the season, 1-0.