POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 21, 2018) – The Vassar women's lacrosse team kicks off their 2018 spring slate on Saturday, February 24 at noon on Weinberg Field against Drew University.

The Brewers finished last season with an 8-7 overall mark and were 5-4 in Liberty League play finishing one spot short of a playoff appearance. Vassar has advanced to the Liberty League Tournament three out of the past five seasons, but have never won a Liberty League playoff game. This season, the tournament has been expanded to six teams with the addition of Ithaca College into the conference. First round action of the tournament will begin on Tuesday, May 1^st with the semifinal and final rounds to follow on May 5^th and 6^th at the home site of the No. 1 seed.

The team graduated five seniors from the 2017 squad, all of whom started at least 13 games for the Brewers a season ago. Key returners for the 2018 team include the reigning Liberty League Rookie of the Year, Tessa Waters. As a rookie, she paced the Brewer attack with 40 points. She was the team leader with 32 goals and tied for fourth among her teammates with eight assists. Waters was also effective in the circle, collecting a team-high 35 draw controls as a freshman. Kelly Pushie and Storm Sideleau are also back for another year in Burgundy and Gray after sitting second and third on the team in points a season ago. Pushie tallied 26 goals and 10 assists in her first season, while Sideleau hammered home 27 scores with five assists as a junior.

Fiona MacLeod, Ashley LaMere, Olivia O'Loughlin, and Emily Chancey all return to the team after starting at least 10 games for Vassar in 2017. Chancey appeared in all 15 games between the pipes for the Brewers last season. She made 12 starts and posted a 4-4 overall record. As a junior, she made 136 saves while recording a 10.71 goals against average.

Vassar heads into the season with six new additions to the roster and two new assistant coaches. Aiding Head Coach Judy Finerghty on the sideline will be first year coaches Sarah Lankton and Megan Dunne. The new faces on the roster include three midfielders, two attackers, and one defender. Skylar Herrera-Ross, Kaela Parentiss, and Haydn Hallman all add depth at the midfield position. Their speed and energy will help in the
Brewers transition game as they look to push the pace against opponents. Julia Sledzik and Alessandra Fable will fight for playing time on the offensive end as they bring stick skills and scoring ability to the attack position. As this year's lone new defender, Marissa Kokinis will look to pick up the Vassar defensive schemes and battle for playing time out of the gate.

The Brewers opened last season at Drew, losing 13-15 and will look for revenge come Saturday. The team won't play again until they host Wesleyan University on Weinberg Field on Wednesday, March 7^th at 5:00 p.m.