POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.  – A late Engineers' comeback was swatted away by the No. 6 Vassar field hockey team, as the Brewers held on for the 3-1 victory on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Ella Pearl (San Francisco, CA) scored the opening goal, with freshman Sam Kass (Ann Arbor, MI) and junior Dara Studnitzer (New City, NY) also getting on the board.

Vassar now moves to 9-0 overall and 1-0 in Liberty League play, while RPI drops to 0-8 and 0-1 in the conference.

The first quarter was all Vassar. The Brewers outshot the Engineers 7-0 and at the 12^th minute finally broke through the defense. Junior Grace Amell (West Hartford, CT) set up the penalty corner to Lopez at the top of the circle. Cristina Lopez (Timonium, MD) then made the line-drive shot through the RPI backline and goalkeeper to Pearl in front of the net. The freshman was able to redirect the shot for the first score. The Brewers nearly scored again in the final minute from shots by Lopez and Carina D'souza (Mountain Top, PA), but they were turned away by RPI goalie Jen Richardson and defender Mikayla Berman.

Vassar controlled the second quarter as well, picking up their second score in the 26^th minute. RPI attempted to clear the ball at the top of their circle, but Kass tripped up the defender and swiped the ball away. Before the Engineers' defense could react, Kass fired the shot from the arc and into the net.

RPI looked like a completely different team in the second half, going on to outshoot Vassar 7-3 in the third. Lauren Roy opened with two shots, and Charisse Stakutis launched the ball on net before Liz Rotolo (Lebanon, NJ) deflected it away. RPI's Kaitlyn Stulen set up the following penalty corner to Brianna Duba, who quickly dished off to Stakutis four yards back from the Vassar goal. She then was able to chip the shot into the right corner to cut the lead to 2-1. The Engineers took three more shots in the quarter.

Some of RPI's momentum carried over into the fourth when Kaitlyn Stulen made an early shot on goal. Soon after, junior Grace Yacura (Ashburn, VA) found herself in a breakaway down the midfield. She shot the ball which was turned aside by Richardson. A scramble in front of the net between both teams ensued. Studnitzer locked sticks with a RPI defender and came out ahead when the ball popped to her and she slipped the shot in for the score.

The Brewers maintained the lead and kept the offensive moving with seven total shots taken. Vassar's defense also locked down by not allowing a single shot after their goal.
Rotolo finished the day with two saves, while Richardson had 10 for RPI. Lopez, Rylie Pope (San Diego, CA), and Stephanie Palma (Manhasset, NY) led Vassar with four shots each. Stakutis led the game with five shots.

The Brewers continue Liberty League action on Sat. Oct. 5 when they travel to Union for a 4:30 p.m. game.