Box Score

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (October 10, 2014) – The Vassar College field hockey team continued to rewrite history Friday night, as the Brewers continued their winning ways with a 2-0 blanking of William Smith College in Liberty League action from Weinberg Field.

The win was important in many ways, as it upped Vassar's win streak to five which matches the season-long mark set over the first five contests in 2014. It was also the first-ever win over William Smith College, as the Brewers (10-1, 2-0 Liberty League) got some redemption after losing in overtime to the Herons 2-1 in Geneva in 2013.

The win was also crucial in the standings, as the Brewers stayed unbeaten in conference play with No. 13 University of Rochester coming to town tomorrow afternoon for Senior Day. The Yellowjackets stayed undefeated in the Liberty League Friday with a 1-0 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY.

The win didn't come easy though, as the Herons (8-4, 2-2 Liberty League) raced out of the gates strong, pinning Vassar in its end through the first 10 minutes. The VC defense was stout, and junior keeper Amreen Bhasin (Cresskill, NJ/Riverdale) played her best half of hockey with three saves in the opening 35 minutes.

Vassar would start to earn some momentum midway through the period, thanks to the inspired play from junior Bianca Zarrella (Leominster, MA/Leominster). Zarrella helped VC swing the field, as the Brewers took the final seven shots of the period. With the half running down, the hosts were awarded a penalty corner with 30 seconds to play.

On the corner, junior Enya Cunningham (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) passed to Zarrella off the stick stop, and Zarrella fired towards the right post. Junior Haley Merritt (East Northport, NY/Northport) dove to the far post and tipped in the shot with two seconds left in the half to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead going into intermission.

Vassar held a slight 8-6 lead in shots over the first half, and earned all four of the penalty corners in the opening stanza. After the break, the Brewers got a huge insurance goal from their leading scorer in junior Lauren Wiebe (Chicago, IL/Francis W. Parker). Wiebe posted her seventh of the season with help from freshman Storm Sideleau (Hopkinton, NH/Kimball Union Academy).

On the play, Sideleau fired the ball across the goalmouth, where Wiebe one-timed the pass past Catherine Hare to put VC up two. The two goals were separated by just 1:46 of game time, and the assist by Sideleau marked her team-leading sixth helper. From that point on, Vassar's defense would take over, holding WSC to just one shot in the second half in holding on for the win.

The shutout for the Brewers was their sixth of the season, and the team improved its goals against average on the year to a Liberty League-leading 0.73. VC has netted two or more goals in its last five games, and also has scored two or more goals in eight of its 10 wins. Over the last four games, VC has allowed just two scores against, and Friday was the first time VC has ever shutout the Herons. The win was Vassar's eighth straight on Weinberg Field, which is the seventh-longest home win streak in the nation currently. 

Bhasin was solid in cage for the Brewers as she made four stops to record her sixth shutout of the season, a single-season record, while also pulling to within one of the all-time shutout record at Vassar.

Zarrella led all players with seven shots, and Katie Meyer had five shots for the Herons and Hare made 10 saves for William Smith. Vassar won the shot battle 18-7, and earned seven penalty corners to the two for the Herons.

The Brewers will honor Cunningham and fellow senior Hilary McDonnell (Blue Bell, PA/The Springside School) Saturday prior to the 2 p.m. game with Rochester. The contest is also the Play4theCure game, where fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game.