POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (September 21, 2016) – Senior forward Hayley Beach scored in the fourth minute and the Vassar College defense was able to stifle the Montclair State offense as Vassar pulled the 1-0 upset of the No. 10 Red Hawks Wednesday evening in non-conference field hockey play from Weinberg Field.

The win marked the fifth straight shutout for the Brewers (7-1), becoming the first time in program history to accomplish that feat. Also, Wednesday's win mark the fourth victory over a ranked opponent since 2013 for the Vassar field hockey team. It was a team effort though, as the offense stepped up when it needed, and the defense and stalwart goalkeeper Paige Amico did the rest.

The sophomore made three key saves at the end of each half, denying the Montclair State offense of any momentum. That momentum though started on the side of the Brewers, who pushed forward early and earned a corner 3:18 into the contest.

On the ensuring penalty opportunity, sophomore Mikayla Young fed the ball out to Monica Feeley who swept a pass to sophomore Megan Caveny. The Cicero, NY native one-timed a shot towards MSU keeper Kaitlin McGuire, which was deflected in mid-air down through the legs of the keeper and into the cage for the eventual deciding goal.

After the tally, Montclair State (6-3) pushed back but the Brewer defense was confident and poised in the back, clearing the ball time and time again. The best chance though in the first period for MSU came with no time on the clock.

With the scoreboard reading zero, the visitors earned four penalty corners, and Kaitlyn Struss nearly equalized but Amico made a great kick save. The Red Hawks earned another corner, but the shot from Camille Maimone from outside of the circle missed all sticks before going out to end the half.

"Keeping our composure was key there," said Amico of the sequence. "Just not letting down and not letting down and not getting frustrated, working together and communication was really high."

After the intermission, the two teams had chances with Vassar's best opportunity coming 46 minutes into the game but Maguire stopped Caveny. Minutes later Struss again tested Amico but the keeper came out and smothered a shot with a strong save to her left.

VC had two more penalty corners with just about 10 minutes to play, but the Red Hawk defense defended both well as Maguire was asked to make just one save. MSU would come back down in the 63^rd minute, but Amico kicked another shot by Struss off a penalty corner out.

The best chance of the game for MSU came with just under four minutes to play, as Amber Haslett streaked in all alone behind the VC defense, but Amico charged out and denied the MSU goal leader while clearing the ball away safely. That would be the best chance that the visitors would get the rest of the way, as Amico and her defense walked away with the home win.

"I'm extremely proud of my team and how hard they came to play," said head coach Michael Warari. "They wanted it, and they wanted to prove they are the team they have been working towards."

The defense in front of Amico was also sound all night, led by the efforts of Molly Youse, Feeley, senior Sophie Arnold and freshman Sam Plante. Montclair State outshot the Brewers 10-5 on the night, earning nine of the game's 13 penalty corners. For Amico, it was her third complete shutout of the season, as she now holds a 210-minute shutout streak for VC in net. In fact, Vassar hasn't allowed a tally in 350 minutes of game action.

"They had a really high press, and we just did a really good job of keeping our composure in the circle and not getting frustrated with them," said Amico.

The Brewers will now focus on Liberty League play, taking on the Saints of St. Lawrence University Saturday at 3 p.m. in conference action. Vassar will be looking to snap a 33-game road losing streak within Liberty League games, dating back to 2005.