JOHNSON, VT - The VTSU Badgers provided fans with a thrilling game against the SUNY Cobleskill Fighting Tigers, erasing a 2-0 deficit with just over 10 minutes remaining in the matchup, though ultimately fell 3-2 in regulation.  The head-to-head contest was highly anticipated, as Johnson and Cobleskill had finished their regular season matchups with two 1-1 ties, necessitating a fourth-degree tiebreaker to establish playoff seeding (Johnson #2, Cobleskill #3).

The first half opened with a hungry Cobleskill team taking control of the field, as they kept the ball largely at play by the Badgers' goal. Despite their intensity and consistent pressure, Cobleskill managed but one shot on goal in the first 20 minutes, saved by Carlos Dominguez, while two more veered off target. Midway through the opening half, the Badgers found an answer to this pressure, jumpstarted by a rocket shot from Io Binder that missed just left. While play remained mostly even through the remainder of the half, Cobleskill's Rob Staubitz found the back of the net with just over 5:00 remaining to put the Fighting Tigers up 1-0 at the whistle.

Cobleskill wasted little time as the second-half whistle blew, with Conor Flanigan securing the team's second goal of the game 3:14 into the half. Though the pressure remained, Johnson's defense remained strong, deflecting drives and preventing goals, as Dominguez worked his way to six total saves in the half (seven on the game). With just over 11:00 remaining, a free kick from Binder saw the ball bounce up for grabs inside the 18, where Mohammed Semega connected a sharp drive back to the bottom left of the net, bringing the Badgers within striking distance. The combination of a must-win scenario with the energy of a late-game goal lifted the Badgers once again just two minutes later, with Simon Benitez drilling a ricocheting ball from inside the six past Cobleskill's goalie to tie the game at 2 apiece.

As all good stories do, this one too did find its end. The Fighting Tigers lived up to their name, with Cody Petschko successfully fighting to find one more goal for his team, with 2:16 remaining in the game. The score would remain 3-2, in Cobleskill's favor, concluding a historic year for the Johnson Badgers.