POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - Powered by a pair of first half goals, the University of Scranton handed Vassar College its first loss of the season on Saturday, posting a 2-0 victory on Gordon Field. The Royals move to 3-0 on the season, while the Brewers are now 2-1 overall.

After start to the game that saw the Brewers have several solid attempts right off the bat, it would be the visitors that grabbed the advantage with a 24th minute goal by senior midfielder Grace Elliot. Playing the ball out of its own box, the Vassar defense miscued, sending the ball back that the keeper had to scramble to get to. In a race with Brewers keeper Teresa Zimmer, Elliot won, battling past her for an open shot into the goal.

The Royals made it a 2-0 advantage ten minutes later on a score from senior defender Isabella DiBenedetto. Following a Vassar foul, DiBenedetto set up for the free kick on the far left of the box. Her shot sailed in low, skimming the ground and rolling through traffic into the back of the net in the 34th minute.

Vassar opened the contest with back-to-back shots from sophomore midfielder Cate Greene and senior midfielder Skylar Herrera-Ross, but struggled in the second half to push one past the reach of Scranton keeper Amanda Steinberg. Rookie Madison Bouggess had a shot that was blocked by the Royals defense in front early in the half.

Junior midfielder Jessica Young nearly pushed one past in the 64th minute, but Steinberg was there for the save, following that up with a great stop on a shot by junior middie Violet Munnelly six minutes later.

In goal, Steinberg earned her third win of the season with five saves. Zimmer shouldered the loss, coming out after 48:11 of action. She was relieved by rookie Julie Reigrut, who made one stop over the final 41:49.

Vassar returns to the pitch on Wednesday in a 4pm contest at Western Connecticut. Scranton is also in action on Wednesday, hosting Lebanon Valley at 7pm.