POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (October 15, 2016) – Sophomore Emily Poehlein scored midway through the second half to break a 1-1 tie, and the Vassar College field hockey defense held on as the Brewers knocked off No. 11 Skidmore College on Senior Day Saturday afternoon in action from Weinberg Field.

The Brewers (11-2, 3-1 Liberty League) earned a win on Senior Day for the fourth time in as many years on Saturday, as VC honored Sophie Arnold, Hayley Beach, Emma Bracken, Flora Crichton-Stuart and Lauren Shumate before the contest. The momentum from the festivities prior to the game translated to the contest, as Vassar got off to a quick start.

Vassar had the Thoroughbreds (11-4, 3-1 Liberty League) pinned in their zone for much of the first nine minutes of the game, earning five penalty corners before finally breaking through for the game's opening tally. In the ninth minute, Vassar picked up a corner opportunity, which followed with sophomore Alyssa More blasting a bouncing shot into the cage off of a pass from fellow sophomore Megan Caveny for the score.

The tally was the seventh of the season for More, which tied with Caveny for the team lead. Skidmore would rally though, as the field started to shift into the Vassar zone. In the 22^nd minute, the Thoroughbreds earned a corner and converted thanks to a nice deflection from Gabby Hyman off a Meaghan Lynch assist. It was Hyman's 17^th goal of the year, second-best in the Liberty League.

VC nearly took the lead 33:25 into the game, as Caveny had a pair of chances but Skidmore keeper Elizabeth Coughlin made two point-blank saves to keep the game deadlocked at one going into intermission.

Vassar outshot Skidmore in the opening half 9-3, and earned seven penalty corners in the opening 35 minutes. VC was once again quick to start, and almost went ahead with 38:41 to play, but Becca Halter made an incredible defensive save after the ball skirted through Coughlin's legs. The Brewers continued to pressure their visitors, and finally broke through in the 47^th minute.

On the eventual game-winning goal, More pushed a pass into a crowded circle, where junior Storm Sideleau beat two defenders to the loose ball. Sideleau's stick tipped the ball to Poehlein, who dove and pushed the shot into the cage at 46:29 of the game. The Thoroughbreds wouldn't go away, earning two subsequent corners by Hyman was denied on a nice chance by sophomore Paige Amico.

Amico would make two more saves off of corners over the next 10 minutes, as Skidmore picked up seven corner chances over the last 24 minutes of the game. The VC defense would stand pat though, forcing Skidmore to pull its keeper with four minutes to play. The extra field player wasn't enough in the end for the Thoroughbreds, with Vassar holding on for the huge conference win.

"We all worked really, really hard and that showed in the final score, and we played right there to the end," said Crichton-Stuart. Arnold also said, "This was just a huge program win in general going forward. League-wise, we're looking pretty good with two league games to play and hopefully moving into postseason play."

"The group has worked really hard, they've been very consistent," said head coach Michael Warari about the seniors. "I'm extremely proud to see this group earn a win on Senior Day with a great game like this one.

Vassar outshot Skidmore 17-8 on the afternoon, while earning a slight 10-9 lead in penalty corners. Coughlin had seven stops in net for the T'Breds, while Amico stopped three shots in the win.

Vassar will now look forward to hosting the Dutchwomen of Union College for the final home game of the season Thursday evening at 7 p.m. in more Liberty League action.