ROCHESTER, NY (April 8, 2017) – The Vassar College women's lacrosse team (5-5, 2-2 Liberty) finished their Liberty League weekend in Rochester strong, bouncing back from a close loss against University of Rochester (6-2, 2-1 Liberty) on Friday with a definitive 12-7 win over Rochester Institute of Technology (6-5, 1-3 Liberty) on Saturday.
 
Freshman force Kelly Pushie started the scoring off early, netting her 17^th of the season on a free position shot. The freshman would go on to have an incredible game for Vassar, contributing with three more goals and one assist.
 
Pushie's goal was followed by an RIT scoring streak, as junior Emily Livecchi found the back of the net twice in a row, three minutes apart, the second assisted by junior captain Maegan Schmauder.  Schmauder would score a goal of her own in a man-up opportunity, bringing the score to 3-1.
 
After a time out, Vassar answered RIT with nine goals in a row, spanning across the rest of the first half. Freshman Tessa Waters contributed one, junior Storm Sideleau blasted in two, senior captain Julia Trudell finessed in one, and Pushie added her final three of the game.  Trudell and Waters would finish the game with another goal each, rounding out the score to 12-4.
 
Senior Phoebe Hankins guided the team with three assists, two ground balls, and a forced turnover.  The leadership of senior captain Brittany Botticelli and junior Hannah Cho on the defensive end rendered RIT with only 23 shots on goal, compared to Vassar's 35.  Junior goalie Emily Chancey won the game for Vassar with 17 saves, while the shared time between RIT's freshman Rebekah Snitkoff and senior Elizabeth Hughes registered four.
 
Towards the end of the game, it came down to team stats.  Vassar's ability to snag more ground balls and cause more turnovers led to the win, even as RIT controlled 10 more draws than Vassar.  Although RIT had a late surge of three goals, a determined midfield and patient defense guided Vassar to a 12-6 win, elevating the Brewers to 2-2 in the Liberty League.
 
Vassar will use this winning momentum to return home, where their next matchup will be on Friday, April 14 against Liberty League opponent Bard College at 6 p.m.