Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (September 1, 2010) -- With Vassar women's soccer due for a victory to continue a five-year pattern of trading wins with SUNY New Paltz, the Brewers opened the season with a 3-1 win after conceding an early goal on a sweltering Wednesday afternoon at Gordon Field. Senior captain and returning points-leader, Carolyn Demougeot, contributed to all three Vassar goals with two goals of her own and an assist to help freshman Gavriella Kaplan find the net in her Vassar debut.

The Brewers take their 1-0 record on the road this Saturday, September 4 at 1:00 p.m. to face Mount St. Mary College. The Hawks, 0-1, look to recover from their opening loss this Friday at 4:30 p.m. as they host University of Scranton.

The Hawks struck first as sophomore forward and returning scoring-leader Samantha Abravanel broke the game open with a goal at 9:33, beating two Vassar defenders, firing a shot directly at Vassar keeper Lexi Hutton, and then chesting in the rebound off Hutton's save.

The Brewers worked though the early deficit and attacked continuously to create several quality scoring opportunities that included near misses by sophomore midfielder Keiko Kurita and Kaplan.

Vassar finally came though on a delayed foul call in the 27th minute when Demougeot squeezed through New Paltz's last two defenders, collected a lob pass from senior captain Allison McManis, and finished into the lower right corner of the goal past the oncoming keeper to tie the game 1-1.

In the 33rd minute, Kaplan delivered the lead for the Brewers with her first career goal, bursting through the back line to track down a floating pass from Demougeot, gathering her dribble and then guiding the ball past the rushing keeper. Three freshman made their college debut as starters on the veteran squad that “has tremendous senior leadership,” said head coach Richard Moller, “and great balance from top to bottom, seniors to freshmen.”

Vassar extended their lead in the 61st minute as senior captain Rachel Shea deftly stole the ball from a New Paltz defender and fed a through ball to Demougeot who cut hard right, leaving a defender in her wake, faded to her right through the box and struck a beautifully-placed ball into the upper right corner to increase the Vassar lead to 3-1.

On defense, junior defender Alix Zongrone saved a goal late for the Brewers by catching up and challenging the speedy Abravanel who faced an empty net after eluding Hutton. Zongrone's challenge allowed Hutton to regain her footing and dash back to the goal just in time to make a sliding kick save.

Although Abravanel had three one-on-one opportunities with the keeper, converting one, the Brewers controlled possession and tallied 18 shots to New Paltz's 10. Vassar shored up their defense in the second half, allowing only two shots. “We dominated the way we wanted to dominate against a New Paltz team that is always well-conditioned and had 11 starters returning,” said Moller. “It was a tremendous start of the season.”