Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (September 11, 2010) – The Vassar College field hockey team advanced to its sixth straight Betty Richey Championship game with an impressive 3-1 victory over Manhattanville College at a sun-drenched Weinberg Field on Saturday.

With their first victory of the season, the Brewers (1-2) will face Smith College, a 3-0 winner over Elms College, at Noon. Vassar will be gunning for its first title since 1995. Manhattanville will face Elms at 10:00 a.m. in the third place game.

Manhattanville came out strong, putting continuous offensive pressure on Vassar in the game's opening minutes. Despite being pinned into their own defensive zone, the Brewers defense responded fiercely, not allowing the Valiants any scoring opportunities in their early rush. Once Vassar broke through, however, the Brewers took over the first half in convincing fashion. Vassar earned four penalty corners in rapid succession, and on the fourth, junior Emily Maier found the back of the net, getting behind Manhattanville goalie Melissa Grant off a cross from freshman Anna Schroder 6:42 into the first half.

Manhattanville would finally break through for their only score of the game with just under five minutes left in the half, when sophomore Alex Pomato slipped a shot past the Vassar goalie Rachel Horwitz. The senior tender needed only one save for the victory.

Following the Manhattanville goal, Vassar was quick to respond. Rooney was a factor in the game, corralling a pass from senior Jessica Lance at the top of the circle and hamming it past Grant just two and a half minutes after the Valiants had tied the score.

Behind the goals by Maier and Rooney, Vassar took a 2-1 lead into intermission. The Brewers added an all-important insurance goal six minutes into the second half when Rooney once again drove in a cross from Lance or her second goal of the game and a 3-1 Vassar lead. It was the first multiple goal game for Rooney.

The rest of the contest played out in a fiercely contested deadlock, with neither team able to gain momentum over the other and break through. Vassar outshot Manhattanville 18-4 and held an 8-4 edge in penalty corners, including a 7-1 advantage in the first half.

“It was a team effort, a real precision game,” said head coach Cara Dunn. “We were able to get all our field players into the game, and they all contributed.”