Box Score

TROY, NY (May 3, 2013) – The fourth-seeded Vassar College women's lacrosse team saw its season come to an end with a 12-5 loss to 18th-ranked host Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the top seed, in the Liberty League semifinals Friday afternoon at Renwyck Field. The Brewers finish the season with a school record-tying 12 victories.

Down 3-0 with less than 10 minutes left in the first half, Vassar fought back to within one on goals by junior midfielder Phoebe Tzannes and sophomore attack Dara Davis, but three Engineer scores in the final 2:05 of the first period, including a goal with just one second on the clock, gave RPI a cushion it would not relinquish.

RPI (13-3), ranked 18th in this week's IWLCA Top 25 poll, advances to tomorrow's championship game to host either second-seeded St. Lawrence or third-seeded William Smith. Vassar's season comes to an end at 12-4, its highest win total since 2007; the Brewers were making their first conference tournament appearance since that year as well.

Ahead 7-3 at halftime, the Engineers continued to press their advantage in the second stanza, using swarming defense to force turnovers and score five unanswered goals to make it 12-3. Tzannes made sure Vassar finished strong, putting two in the net in the final four and a half minutes for the 12-5 margin.

Tzannes scored three goals with Davis and freshman midfielder Isabelle Goldstein adding a goal and an assist apiece. Sophomore defender Evie Toland picked up six ground balls with sophomore goalie Katharine Pula making eight saves. Sophomore Hilary McDonnell relieved Pula for the final nine minutes and made two saves.

Alissa Peterson and Rachel Scofield scored three goals each to lead the defending Liberty League champion Engineers to the win; Shannon Maguire scored two goals, dished out three assists, won seven draw controls and was one of five Rensselaer players to score two or more goals. RPI goalie Allie Arnal, the Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year, made two saves in a complete game effort.

First Team All-Liberty League defender Jacqueline Palma, Second Team All-Liberty League honorees Davis and Tzannes are all slated to return for the 2014 campaign, as are Goldstein and Pula.