POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (October 20, 2016) – The Vassar College field hockey team continued to click offensively, as the Brewers busted out for six goals in a 6-0 shutout of Union College in the home finale Thursday evening from Weinberg Field.

With the win, Vassar (12-2, 4-1 Liberty League) set a school record for conference wins in a season with four, while also tying for the second-most wins in program history for a year with 12. Thursday also marked the fourth time this year that VC has chalked up six goals in a game. Prior to the game, Vassar was ranked No. 1 in the official NCAA Regional Rankings in the North Atlantic region. 

VC and Union traded penalty corners early on in the game, but the Brewers got on the board in the 14^th minute on a goal by sophomore Haley Cubell. On the play, sophomore Alyssa More tossed a long aerial to Emily Poehlein, and her cross was knocked in by Cubell for her third score of the season.

The sophomore from Lititz, PA was back at it at 26:21 of the contest, collecting a rebound off her own shot and pushing it past Union keeper Laura Aptowitz for the tally. The offense wasn't done for VC, as the Brewers scored twice in the last 3:22 of the first half. The Brewer's third goal came from senior Emma Bracken, as Poehlein deflected a pass high into the air and Bracken backhanded the loose ball into the cage.

Junior Storm Sideleau put a cap on the first half for the Brewers, as she scored 55 seconds later, taking a long through ball from senior Lauren Shumate and hammering a shot over Aptowitz's left shoulder for the goal. VC outshot its visitors 16-3 in the opening half.

In the second, the Brewers added to their lead at 46:19 of the contest, as Poehlein scored one of her own after her previous two assists. Poehlein beat Aptowitz to a centering pass from Sideleau, and snuck it inside the left post for her fifth goal of the year. The final tally on the day for VC came in the 49^th minute, as sophomore Megan Caveny blasted in a penalty corner off of a stick stock from Sideleau and the insert from senior Flora Crichton-Stuart.

That was plenty of offense for Vassar, which didn't allow a Union (4-11, 1-5 Liberty League) shot for the final 62:06 of the contest. The win pushed VC into the lead in the conference lead with a 4-1 record, a half of game in front of the University of Rochester, Skidmore College and William Smith College. The Brewers are assured of a spot in the Liberty League Tournament for the fourth straight season.

Vassar set a school record on the night for points in a season with 135 on the year, while the six Thursday night also set a school mark for goals in a year with their 49^th of the season. The 10^th shutout of the season is now four more than any other season in Vassar history.

"Our team really came together, especially in the second half, our passing was really great," said Cubell. "We had incredible team defense, which helped keep the ball in our own offensive 25."

Vassar outshot its visitors 32-3 on the night, while earning all but one of the game's 14 penalty corners. Aptowitz made 11 saves in the cage for the Dutchwomen, while Lindsay Barson posted two defensive saves for Union. Sophomore Paige Amico stopped one shot in her 45:26 of action before making way for Liz Rotolo who preserved the shutout.

"It was a great team win, the team was fired up, we did a really good job moving the ball around in the circle and creating scoring opportunities," said head coach Michael Warari. "We take a lot of pride in, finishing as a team and it shows how deep we are…"

The Brewers will finish Liberty League play on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Troy, NY, taking on the Engineers of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Union will take on Hamilton College October 25 at 6 p.m. in Clinton, NY.