POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Vassar College Field Hockey team posted its fifth shutout of the season on Tuesday night as the fourth-seeded Brewers defeated fifth-seeded Skidmore, 2-0, in the Liberty League First Round. Junior Hailey Brigger (San Diego, CA) registered three points on the night as Vassar moves on to the semifinals to take on top-seeded Rochester on Friday.

The offense for both teams was quiet in the opening 10 minutes as Vassar picked up the first penalty corner of the day at the 11:49 mark. Junior Jaclyn Narleski (Basking Ridge, NJ) inserted the ball as Brigger then passed it back to Narleski for the first goal of the contest to close the opening quarter with a 1-0 advantage.

The Brewers got on the board for the second time early in the second quarter as a corner injection from junior Maggie Werner (Berkeley, CA) found Brigger who fired one in the back of the net for her ninth goal of the season 3:50 into the quarter. Skidmore's goalkeeper Victoria Bodnar made two big saves at the end of the half followed by a defensive save by Lauren Ruggiero to keep the Vassar lead to two.

About five and a half minutes into the second half, Vassar earned a penalty corner and Bodnar once again made two saves on Brigger and junior Adah Anderson (San Diego, CA). Bodnar picked up one more save before the end of the quarter on senior Sam Kass (Ann Arbor, MI) to keep the Thoroughbreds deficit at 2-0.

Bodnar made one final save on junior Molly Zahnleuter (Clifton Park, NY) after a corner injection before Skidmore got its first shot of the game blocked with five minutes left in the contest. Anderson made a defensive save for the Brewers following a corner for the Thoroughbreds as junior Sarah Dumaresq (Barnstable, MA) made a save on the conference leader in goals, Carrie Hughes, with one minute left to post Vassar's fifth shutout of the season.

Brigger's ninth goal of the season and team-leading fifth assist now gives her the team lead in points with 23. Narleski tallied her fourth goal of the season for the eventual game-winner. Dumaresq made two save of the night for her 13th win of the season and fifth shutout for the Brewers.

Hughes and Tobi Dolan each had a shot on goal for Skidmore as Bodnar made six saves in the net for the Thoroughbreds.

The Brewers finished the night with a 14-3 edge in shots as well as a 9-2 advantage in shots on goal. Vassar also held the edge in penalty corners at 8-2.

Vassar will head to top seed Rochester on Friday for the Liberty League Championship semifinal. The contest with the Yellowjackets is set for 4:00 p.m.