Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (October 27, 2009) – While the statistical sheet was kind to the Vassar field hockey team, the final score had a different agenda. Despite a 19-7 advantage in shots, the second best performance of the year, the Brewers dropped the season finale to Scranton, 1-0, at misty Weinberg Field on Tuesday afternoon. 

Vassar concludes its 2009 season at 2-17. Scranton improves to 8-9 and next hosts Keystone College on Thursday, October 29 at 4:00 p.m. 

In a rapidly played game that did not lack scoring opportunities for the host Brewers, it was Scranton's senior forward Elizabeth Carugan who tallied the game's only goal with 48 seconds to play in the first half. Carugan's sixth goal of the season followed a penalty corner and two consecutive passes, the assist feed coming off the stick of freshman forward Gretchen Kempt. In a crowded crease, Vassar freshman goalie Rachel Clarkin-Breslin couldn't react quickly enough to make the save. 

Trailing 1-0 at halftime transformed Vassar, and the Brewers played with both abandon and a sense of urgency in the second half. The Brewers launched 14 shots in the final 35 minutes and had eight penalty corners. Despite these valiant efforts, Vassar could not find the back of the Scranton cage. 

Royals junior goalie Deirdre Rocklein made eight saves in the game, five coming in the first half, and her play was the difference maker. Her finest stop of the first half came following a rocket shot off the stick of senior forward Jennie McAllister at the 19 minute mark. Rocklein barely got her right pad on McAllister's shot, otherwise the Brewers would have scored the game's first goal. 

Rocklein's three second half saves were sensational against relentless Vassar pressure. At the 10 minute mark, Vassar senior midfielder Jordan Friedman adeptly stick handled her way through the Scranton defense and launched a shot that a sprawling goalie pushed wide of the goal. 

At the 4 minute mark, McAllister collected a nifty feed from fellow senior Rachel Lowenthal and deked a Scranton defender with slick body and stick movement in the crease, only to have Rocklein once again save a McAllister's shot off her right pad. 

In the game's frantic final three minutes, one that saw the Brewers dominate all facets of play, junior midfielder Jessica Lance blasted a shot from the top of the circle that was blocked by the Scranton defense. The rebound found the stick of sophomore Katy Hwang, but her shot was saved by the crafty Scranton goalie. 

Vassar continued to push toward goal in the final two minutes, but several change of ball possessions following fouls allowed Scranton to disrupt Vassar's momentum enough to run out the clock. 

The Scranton contest marked the final game for seniors McAllister, Friedman, Lowenthal and midfielder Catherine Fuller.