Box Score TROY, NY (April 3, 2015) – Vassar scored three unanswered goals in overtime, as the Brewers broke the tie to dispatch the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 11-8 Friday evening. The loss marked the first Liberty League defeat for the Engineers since April 26, 2013, while RPI also lost its first Liberty League home game since 2012. The victory was a big one for VC, besting the Engineers for the first time since the 2009 season and for only the fourth time in school history.
A trio of Brewers tied for a team-best three points, including freshman Storm Sideleau (Hopkinton, NY/Kimball Union Academy) who scored the game-winning goal in the first overtime period. Fellow first-year Hannah Cho (West Hartford, CT/Hall) also finished with three points on a goal and two assists, while sophomore Julia Trudell (Newtown, CT/Newtown) posted a team-high three goals to pace the Brewers to victory. VC moves to 4-3 on the season and 2-1 in the Liberty League with the victory, while RPI drops to 3-4 (1-1 LL).
Vassar was first to strike in the game at Renwyck Field, getting a free position goal from sophomore Brittany Botticelli (Commack, NY/Commack) at the 21:48 mark to break into the scoring tally. The Brewers added another goal a few minutes later, as Trudell buried her first of the game off a dish from Sideleau to push the lead to 2-0.
RPI got on the board at the 17:06 mark, as Mackenzie O'Neil scored to make it 2-1 in favor of the Brewers. VC answered less than a minute later, as sophomore Sydney Spadinger (Shelton, CT/Shelton) put away her third of the season to extend her team's lead back to two.
Both sides remained quiet over the next several minutes, before Sideleau made a nice move around her defender left of the cage to bury an open shot in the top near corner. Her goal bumped the lead to 4-1 Vassar at the 7:30 mark, before Meg Colitz notched the final goal of the half for RPI at the 1:39 mark. VC carried a 4-2 advantage into the break, despite being outshot 8-9 in the first half.
The Brewers quickly broke into the scoring tally in the second half, as Trudell scored a woman-up goal at the 28:11 mark to put VC ahead 5-2. The teams again traded goals, before freshman Amelia Rivoir (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) gave the Brewers their largest lead of the game, scoring with 16:20 left to play to make it 7-3.
With their backs against the wall, the Engineers never waivered going on a 5-1 scoring run to end the half and swing the momentum in their favor. Two consecutive goals from Erin Riley and Chelsea Brennan had RPI within two at the 11:56 mark, but Cho quickly got one back for Vassar to pull the Brewers ahead 8-5.
A three-goal swing over the next two and half minutes evened the game, starting with a goal from Brennan with 9:43 left to go. An unfortunate own-goal gave RPI a freebie to make it 8-7 at the 8:50 mark, before Colitz tied the game with 7:07 left on the clock with her 17th of the season.
Vassar held the ball for a majority of the final minutes of regulation, but could not produce a quality look as time expired and the Brewers were forced into overtime for the second time in three games.
Despite losing the opening draw of overtime, a clutch caused turnover from senior Enya Cunningham (Stroudsburg, PA/Stroudsburg) quickly put the ball back in the Brewers' sticks. A blown defensive assignment left an open lane to the goal for Sideleau, and the freshman attacker took it, bouncing a shot off the turf to beat the keeper high and put the Brewers ahead 9-8.
VC came up with the ensuing draw, and senior Leigh Anne Baldwin (Simsbury, CT/Westminster) made her third free position attempt of the year count scoring to push VC's lead to two with 15 seconds left in the first OT period.
Vassar continued to dominate possession and force mistakes from RPI in the second OT period, while senior Jackie Palma (Manhasset, NY/Manhasset Junior-Senior) added insurance in the final moments to give Vassar the three-goal victory.
The Brewers will be back in action tomorrow afternoon in Saratoga Springs, NY to face Skidmore College at 2:00 pm.
--VASSAR--
