POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 14, 2015) – The Vassar College men's lacrosse team will take on the Williams College Ephs at 4:30 pm this Wednesday at Gordon Field.
 
Game Details
Opponent: Williams (7-4, 4-4 NESCAC)
Links:  (Williams Men's Lacrosse Homepage) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility: Gordon Field
Date: April 15, 2015
Time: 4:30 pm  
Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)   
 
Last Time Out
The No. 2 Rochester Institute of Technology used an 8-0 run between the first and second quarters to jump out ahead of Vassar before securing a 22-7 victory Saturday afternoon. The Tigers outshot the Brewers 49-24 and held a 20-12 advantage in faceoffs to control possession. RIT moves to 13-0 on the season and 4-0 in the Liberty League with the win, while Vassar drops to 6-6 (1-4 LL).
 
A Look at the Ephs (7-4, 4-4 NESCAC)
Williams comes into the game following a big conference loss to Wesleyan where the Ephs were edged 9-8. The Ephs started off their season on a hot streak, going 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the NESCAC to eanr a top-1o ranking in the USILA Coaches Poll. However, Williams has  dropped its last four games, all in conference, and will face the Brewers as the No. 19 team in the country looking for the team's first win since March 24.
 
The Brewers will need to watch out for senior Steven Kiesel who will enter the game with a team leading 27 goals and 33 points. The Ephs have a rather spread out offense with three players with 16 or more goals. Freshman Brian Bissell has been the primary handler on faceoffs for the Ephs, winning 87 of 179 for a 48.6% clip. Senior Dan Whittam has started in all 11 games in betwwen the pipes, allowing 8.45 goals per game with a 60.4% save percentage. 
 
Against Williams All-Time
Vassar and Williams have only faced off once before. This game occurred on April 16 of last year when the Ephs defeated the Brewers 14-5. Vassar will come out Wednesday looking to avenge their loss from last year and even the all-time series to 1-1.
 
Leading Men
Only six teams have held lead on RIT this season, now ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation in the latest USILA Coaches Poll. Of those six teams, Vassar has held the second longest lead over the Tigers at 8:30 after the Brewers went up 2-1 in the first quarter last Saturday. Vassar is the only team to not be nationally ranked at any point this season to hold a lead on the Tigers.    
 
All-Natural
Vassar will play on Gordon Field for the first time this season when the Brewers host Williams on Wednesday. A large majority of the team's games have been played on artificial surfaces this year, so the Brewers will need to adjust to the feel and bounce of a natural surface.  
 
Sharing the Wealth
All year Vassar's offense has had a multitude of players capable of scoring, as six different players have recorded at least 13 goals for far. In addition, all six of those players have recorded at least five assists.
 
League of His Own
Senior Scott Brekne (Stony Brook NY/Ward Melville) recorded his 300th career groundball against RIT on April 11, and he will end his Brewer career as the only player to finish with 300+ faceoff wins and 300+ groundballs.
 
Season of Goals
Junior Noah Parson (Cary, NC/Panther Creek) moved into a tie for sixth all-time in goals scored in a season, recording his 27th of the year against RIT. Parson is now tied with Zach Winkler ('05), Max Herman ('14) and Thomas Boardman ('04) on the season list.
 
Into the Season Ranks
Sophomore Sam Houston-Read (Waban, MA/Newton South) is now tied for eighth in assists in a season, recording his 15th of the year against RIT. Houston-Read is now tied with Liam Moriarty and Ben Kelly ('00) on the season list.
 
Turnover Tales
Vassar has had 20 more turnovers and 21 less forced turnovers than its opponents this season. In order to come away with a victory against Williams, Vassar will need to be more careful with its possessions as five of the team's six wins have come when committing less than 20 turnovers.
 
Up Next
Vassar will honor its four seniors against No. 11 Union College on Saturday April 18 at 12 pm at home for senior day. Union currently sits at 3-1 in the Liberty League and 10-2 overall.