POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 23, 2014) – The Vassar College women's lacrosse team will play its final two games of the regular season as they hunt down a spot in the Liberty League playoffs and as the five seniors bid farewell to competition on Weinberg Field.
 
Game Details
Game Identification: Friends of Jaclyn Day
Opponent: University of Rochester Yellowjackets (5-7, 1-6 Liberty League)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility: Weinberg Field
Date: April 25, 2014
Time: 4:00 pm
Live Stats
Live Video
 
Game Details
Game Identification: Senior Day
Opponent: Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers (4-9, 1-6 Liberty League)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility: Weinberg Field
Date: April 26, 2014
Time: 2:00 pm
Live Stats
Live Video
 
A Look At The Brewers
The Brewers (9-4, 4-3 Liberty League) recently took a pair of weekend Liberty League wins on Friday and Saturday against the Golden Knights of Clarkson University and the Saints of St. Lawrence University. The Brewers won 18-11 and 7-5, respectively. Junior Dara Davis (Guilford, CT/Guilford) had a stellar performance, scoring six goals and adding one assist in the win against the Knights. Senior Malena Harrang (Bellevue, WA/Forest Ridge School) was credited with the game-winning goal on Friday. It was her first of the season and fourth of her four-year career. Sophomore Isabelle Goldstein (Belmont, MA/Belmont) led Vassar in Saturday's road win with a pair of goals and an assist while senior Phoebe Tzannes (Lexington, MA/Lexington) scored twice and was credited with the game-winner. The clincher was her third this year and fourth in her stay as a Brewer.
 
Davis and Goldstein can't seem to make up their minds on who is going to be the team-leader in points each week. The duo attackers are almost neck-and-neck with Goldstein holding a one-point advantage over Davis. She has scored 26 goals and assisted 20 times for 46 points while Davis has the team-high of 36 goals and adds the second best of nine helpers. Davis also leads in free position goals with 13 and draw controls with 34. Junior Jacqueline Palma (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset Junior-Senior) paves the way defensively with 34 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers. Junior Kate Pula (Washington Township, NJ/Immaculate Heart Academy) has saved 61 shots this season and is currently 6-3 while also grabbing 15 grounders of her own and causing turnovers in two situations.
 
A Look At The Yellowjackets
Rochester is on a five-game losing streak with all of them being to League opponents. More recently, the Jackets dropped a pair of home losses to William Smith College and Union College 11-9 and 13-9, respectively. Danielle Diacovo recorded a hat-trick against the Dutchwomen during Saturday's loss. Jamie Wallisch also recorded three points from two goals and one assist during the Liberty League matchup.
 
Wallisch leads Rochester with 34 points from 20 goals and 14 assists. Her assists are the most on the team. Lauren Basil follows in points with 28 from five helpers and a team-high 23 goals. Wallisch and Basil are tied for the most ground balls with 32 each and Wallisch also has the most caused turnovers with 24. Elisabeth Watson has won the most draw controls with 34 on the season. Both Maire Prosak and Marissa Traina have 40 saves on the season for the Yellowjackets.
 
Against Rochester All-Time
The Brewers currently own a four-game win streak and also have won six of the last seven meetings against the Yellowjackets. The series, however, belongs to Rochester with a record of 9-6 since 1992.
 
A Look At The Tigers
RIT is also on a losing streak of late. The Tigers have dropped the last six Liberty League games in succession with the most recent loss to William Smith 13-6. Corrina Mandell tabbed two goals in Saturday's loss to the Herons while Sage Sarkis and Nicole Bingo each had one goal and one assist on the day. Caitlin Conway made 10 saves from the 31 Heron shots (23 on goal).
 
Sarkis leads the Tigers with 45 of their 107 goals. She adds seven assists for 52 points. The next top player on the points list is Ashleigh Caruso with 13 goals and seven assists for 20 points. Caitlin Conway leads RIT with 31 ground balls and with 95 saves in goal.
 
Against RIT All-Time
The Brewers and Tigers have only met twice in the past five years and four times in total with a record of 3-1 in favor of RIT. In both last season and the 2012 meetings, the Brewers scored 11 goals but the Tigers put up 16 scores two years ago and 13 last year. The last time Vassar topped RIT was in 2005 during the New York State Tournament with a score of 18-10.
 
Tops Assisting
The Brewers are the No. 4 team in the Liberty League in terms of the percentage of goals they assist on throughout the season. Out of their 165 goals (League second-best), 64 were assisted (League third-best) giving the Brewers an assist percentage of 38.8 percent. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute leads the conference with 80-of-147 goals being from passes (54.4 percent).
 
Here's A POINTer
The Brewers average 17.62 points per game. Despite not leading the Liberty League in either goals per game or assists per game, the average between the two places them at the top of the League just above RPI's 17.46 average.
 
Draw!
The Brewers are #40 in the nation for draw controls with an average of 14.15 a game with Davis leading the way, averaging 2.6 a game for a total of 34.
 
Family Values
Every player on the Vassar Women's Lacrosse team has at least one sibling. There are no only children on the 2014 squad and the majority of the team has more than one brother or sister.
 
Theft And Security
Junior Evie Toland (Nyack, NY/ Nyack), who has played almost every minute this season, has not turned over a single ball in the past 12 games and has caused 14 turnovers while grabbing 19 ground balls. Palma also has a strong caused turnover-to-turnover ratio with 22 forced possession-changes and only eight turnovers. She leads the Brewers with 34 ground balls.
 
Playoff Picture
#1 Spot – RPI will have to lose both games to St. Lawrence and to Clarkson, leaving either Union or William Smith to finish with a record of 8-1. The Dutchwomen and Herons only play each other this weekend with records of 7-1, each losing to RPI. If RPI beats either SLU or Clarkson, they clinch the regular season championship and will clinch the #1 seed.
#2 and #3 Spots – Depending on the outcome of the Union-William Smith game, either team will clinch the #2 seed while the other takes #3 without dispute and assuring the two teams will meet again in the first round of the Liberty League playoffs. If RPI loses both games this weekend, they will automatically clinch the #2 seed with the tiebreaker over the then #3 seed.
#4 Spot – Vassar, St. Lawrence and Skidmore all are in contention for the low seed of the playoffs. The Brewers hold tiebreakers over both schools, having defeated them earlier in the season. If Vassar wins both games this weekend, they are the #4 seed. As long as the Brewers don't lose both, they have a chance even if they drop one and as long as St. Lawrence doesn't beat both RPI and Skidmore. If the Brewers win one and Skidmore wins both games, then they will still be the #4 team. The only way the Brewers will not make the playoffs is if the Saints win both of their games and Vassar fails to win one this weekend.
 
Senior Day
Saturday's matchup will be seniors Nicole Magney (Chevy Chase, MD/Maret School), Tzannes, Harrang, Zoe Ripecky (Chicago, IL/St. Ignatius College Preparatory) and Catherine Fiore's (Essex Fells, NJ/West Essex) last game as a Brewer on Weinberg Field during regular season.