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POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – After receiving an at-large bid, the Vassar College women's soccer team (9-7-1) will make its NCAA Tournament debut on Saturday. The Brewers' first-round game against No. 21 MIT (16-2-3) gets underway at 1:30 p.m. from Amherst College's Hitchcock Field.
Vassar played seven fellow NCAA Tournament teams during the regular season, defeating four of those squads on the road. The Brewers beat Liberty League champion William Smith for the first time ever on Oct. 20, and also knocked off Stevens on Sept. 9, Western Connecticut State on Sept. 12 and an RIT team that was ranked 15
th nationally at the time on Sept. 22.
"From the beginning, we've been making the schedule to give us an opportunity to get that at-large bid," Head Coach
Corey Holton said. "It's always been within reach. The win against William Smith really showed us where we're at as a program, and this is the reward for that."
Senior
Rebecca Andrews (Los Altos, CA) earned her second career First Team All-Liberty League selection after notching three game-winners among her four goals this season. Freshman
Emma Tanner (Florence, MA), the team-leader with six goals, was named to the All-Liberty League Second Team along with senior
Emma Lavelle (Scottsdale, AZ). Sophomore goalkeeper
Fiona Walsh (Hackettstown, NJ), meanwhile, is the current ECAC Defensive Player of the Month. She boasts an 8-7-1 record and a 1.25 goals against average. Walsh has five shutouts this season.
MIT clinched the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) title with a 2-1 overtime triumph against Springfield last Saturday. This is the Engineers' third consecutive NCAA Tournament and eighth overall (all of which have come since 2009). MIT reached the round of 16 last season.
Junior Sophia Struckman was named NEWMAC Offensive Athlete of the Year after scoring a team-high 14 goals, four of which were game-winners. Senior Hailey Nichols, meanwhile, received NEWMAC Defensive Athlete of the Year honors for the second straight season. They were joined on the All-NEWMAC First Team by senior Shannon Miller. Freshman Karenna Groff has tallied 12 goals this season, while junior Montana Reilly has a squad-best nine assists. Senior goalkeeper Lily Mueller (16-2-3) has recorded seven shutouts and holds opponents to a 0.85 goals against average.
"I think we match up well with MIT," Holton said. "Our goal is always to play the best soccer we possibly can and play the style that we appreciate and like. We're going to enjoy every moment of the experience, but we want the win."
The winner of Saturday's game will face either No. 14 Amherst (13-2-2), the host school for the first two rounds, or Lesley (16-4-0) at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
