NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Two second half goals were the difference, as the State University of New York at New Paltz men's soccer team (0-1) dropped its season opener to cross-river rival Vassar College (1-0), 3-1, at Alumni Field on Friday.

Vassar's Tom Wiechert accounted for all three Brewer goals with a hat trick Friday afternoon. His first tally came just over a minute into the game to give the Brewers an early advantage, while his final two were scored within eight minutes of each other in the second half and ultimately won the game for Vassar.

Ryan Grimme picked up the win for Vassar, stopping five shots and allowing just one goal. Junior goalkeeper Steven Domino (Valatie, N.Y./Ichabod Crane) shouldered the loss for the Hawks, allowing three goals and saving four shots in the process.

Vassar's Cosmo Veneziale fed Wiechert from midfield after a New Paltz clear, and the junior sent it over Domino's head into a wide open net at 1:01 to open the scoring for the contest. The Hawks picked up some steam at the end of the first half and started firing off shot after shot. Finally, freshman midfielder/forward Caiden Williams (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Spackenkill) headed one to the left side of the net, which was batted away by Grimme, but senior midfielder Bernardo Menendez (Buenos Aires, Argentina/San Martin de Tours) followed it up with a blast right past the keeper with just nine seconds left on the clock to knot the game up at one.

After some back and forth play to kick off the second frame, Wiechert found himself open in the box with just the keeper to beat. He fired one from left to right into the corner of the net to give the Brewers the lead at 61:10. At the 68:34 mark, Wiechert hit pay dirt again after beating the defense up the middle of the field and putting it into the back of the net for a third time.

Vassar earned eight corner kicks on the afternoon, while the Hawks had just one. Total shots were close in Friday's contest, with the Hawks coming away with 16 to the Brewers' 15.

The Hawks return to action on Saturday, Sept. 7, where they will participate in the Gary Smith Invitational hosted by St. Joseph's (LI) College in Patchogue, N.Y. New Paltz faces off with the United States Coast Guard Academy in its opening round matchup at 3 p.m.