POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 31, 2017) — The Vassar College women's lacrosse team (4-3, 1-0 Liberty) stormed back from an 8-1, second-half deficit to take its conference-opener against Union College (1-4, 0-1 Liberty) at Weinberg Field on Friday, 10-9.

"We knew that if we just kept at it, we'd have some opportunities," coach Judy Finerghty said. "They're just a great team. They're energetic, they work hard. We have so much faith in them. As soon as they made a couple of good decisions and won some 50-50 balls, we had chances."

The Brewers netted the final eight goals of the game, completing the incredible comeback with 16 seconds remaining on Grace Goodwin-Boyd's goal from Kelly Pushie. 

Pushie, who had scored two of the final four goals of the game to notch a hat trick, circled around the back before passing to Goodwin-Boyd for the catch-and-shoot, game-winning goal. 

"(Pushie) just has great vision and a great stick," Finerghty said. "There were so many people that contributed today. All of our freshman really stepped up big today."

Pushie was one of two Brewers to register four points on three goals and an assist, along with fellow freshman Tessa Waters, who also tallied two created turnovers and a draw control.

Julia Trudell added a pair of goals, and Amelia Rivoir dished out back-to-back assists down the stretch during the Brewers' 8-0 run. 

Emily Chancey earned the win for Vassar with eight saves, while Jen Hughes took the loss for Union with nine, as the Brewers outshot their visitors 26-19 overall and 19-17 in shots-on-goal. 

Cailin Pandolfi led the Dutchwomen with four points on two goals and a pair of assists. Natalie Sullivan and Kellie Cronin both added two scores, and Mallory Toolan dished out a pair of passes to round out Union's offensive leaders. 

Playing through a sheet of chilly rain, the Dutchwomen dominated the first half to take a 6-1 advantage into the break. Pushie interrupted the early surge with an unassisted score about midway through the period, 4-1. 

Union carried some of its first-half momentum into the second, scoring three of the first four to take a 9-2 lead with 22:30 to go. Waters broke up that burst with a free-position goal before sparking the decisive 8-0 run with another score, 9-3. 

"We had some shots early that we just weren't putting in the net, so I feel like we put ourselves behind early in the game," Finerghty said. "We really got behind with some turnovers, so the second half we were able to put the ball in the net and take a little better care of the ball. It was a great team effort all around."

Trudell took over to score back-to-back goals, with the second assisted by Waters, 9-5. Then, it was Rivoir's time to shine, as she found Hannah Cho for a goal and Pushie for another, 9-8. 

To complete the comeback, the Brewers scored another two goals in the final minute. With 58 seconds remaining, Waters completed her hat trick, slotting it sideways into the net to knot it at nine. Then with 16 seconds to go, Pushie swung around the back of the net before flicking to Goodwin-Boyd for the game-winning goal. 

"Going into our next game, we know that we have to play with intensity for the full 60 minutes," Pushie said. "Keeping our composure and knowing we can compete with any team in the Liberty League (is key)."

The Brewers wrap up their four-game homestand, welcoming William Smith College to Weinberg Field on Saturday, April 1. Action begins at 2 p.m.

—VASSAR—

*Highlights are underlined throughout the text.