Brewers Advance To First Liberty League Finals

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The No. 6 Vassar College field hockey team continues to make history. After defeating RPI 4-0 on Wednesday evening at Weinberg field, the Brewers are set to participate in their first-ever Liberty League Championship game in school history. "It means everything to us, but we're just going to treat it like any other game," said head coach Michael Warari. "Our goal all season has been one game at a time. We are going to enjoy and celebrate this game, but tomorrow we go back to work." Shots flew in the first half, with the Vassar offense taking 17 while holding the Engineers to none. Megan Caveny (Cicero, NY) rattled off three shots in the opening minutes, but the Brewers could not quite connect early on. The first score came at the 21st minute after a RPI defender deflected the ball to Sophie McGrath (Yarmouth, ME) in front of the cage. McGrath somehow managed to slip a pass to Grace Amell (West Hartford, CT) amidst the chaos for the opening goal. The following goal was from a textbook Vassar corner at the 29:42 mark. Mikayla Young(Honesdale, PA) inserted the penalty corner from the left side to the top of the circle. Cristina Lopez (Timonium, MD) one-timed the shot and into the back of the cage. In the second half, Vassar picked up two goals in a less than a minute span. Emily Poehlein(North Hampton, MA) netted one at 38:34. Then at 39:10, Stephanie Palma (Manhasset, NY) redirected a Lopez shot in another hectic moment. Palma collided with the RPI goalkeeper five yards out, but managed to redirect the shot to push the lead to 4-0. The Engineers' offense managed four shots in the second, but the Brewers' defense was too overwhelming for a late comeback. By the end of the game, Vassar outshot RPI 28-4, while holding a 10-2 corner advantage. This is the Brewers' 15th consecutive win and 13th shutout of the season. Goalkeeper Liz Rotolo (Lebanon, NJ) picks up eighth shutout of the year with the victory. The Brewers face No. 9 Rochester in the Liberty League Championship game on Nov. 3. Game starts at 1 p.m. at Weinberg Field.