Poughkeepsie, NY – The top-seeded Vassar College Men's Soccer team opens play in the Semifinal Round of the 2024 Liberty League Championship Friday afternoon against fifth seeded RIT. Kick-off at Gordon Field is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. with Live Stats ad Video available for those unable to attend.
At A Glance
- Vassar enters Friday's semifinal with an 11-3-2 overall record and earned the top seed in the championship tournament with a 6-1-2 mark against league rivals.
- With a 5-1 win over RIT in the regular season finale and a 2-2 draw between Hobart and St. Lawrence, Vassar clinched the top seed in the championship.
- The Brewers outscored their opponents 38-18 over 16 regular season contests.
- Vassar enters Friday's contest as the most potent offensive team in the Liberty League, averaging a conference-high 2.4 goals per contest.
- The Brewers allowed 1.13 goals per game over the course of the regular season, ranking sixth in the conference.
- Vassar won its last two games of the regular season by a combined score of 8-1.
- The Brewers closed the regular season with a 6-1-2 record over its final nine games.
- Vassar rose to as high as #10 in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll and spent four weeks ranked inside the top-25.
A Look At Vassar
- The Brewers feature 10 different players with at least one goal and seven players with multiple goals on the year.
- First Year Arden Tobolski (Chapel Hill, NC) leads Vassar with 10 goals, including a team-high three game winning goals, and 24 points.
- Despite missing time due to injury, Vassar senior Duncan Keker (Oakland, CA) ranks second on the team in assists (5) and points (17) and tied for second in goals (6).
- Junior Jared Fiske (Livingston, NJ) joins Keker with six goals to date on the season, including two game winners, and is third on the team with 15 points.
- Eli Torrey (Philadelphia, PA) has put together a strong sophomore campaign, ranking fourth on the team with 12 points on the strength of four goals and four assists.
- Jackson Hall (Washington, DC) and Joshua Lee (Bethlehem, PA) have each scored three goals and have combined for three game winning goals.
- Sophomore Mauricio Mejia (Miami, FL) paces the Brewers with six assists and has chipped in a pair of goals.
- Brandon Liu (Seattle, WA) has helped anchor a steady backline, starting all 16 games to date for Vassar while playing a team-high 1,383 minutes. Offensively, Liu has chipped in two assists.
- Jacob Raphan (Oceanside, NY) started 15 of the 16 regular season games in goal, playing 1,312:53 of a possible 1,440:00 between the pipes.
- Raphan holds a 1.17 goals against average and a .712 save percentage while turning aside 42 shots.
- Raphan has produced four shutouts for the Brewers and won each of the team's 11 games.
Scouting The Tigers
- RIT is coming off a hard fought 1-0 First Round win over Hobart on Tuesday and holds a 7-9-1 overall record.
- The Tigers are being outscored by their opponents to date by a 21-13 margin.
- Selorm Dake, who scored the game winner against the Statesmen on Tuesday, paces the scoring attack with three goals and seven points.
- Jake Donahue and Daniel Gebura have each tallied twice for the Tigers.
- Adrian Sobczak, Idriss Diallo and John Lucas have all scored one goal and added two assists.
- Jason Trapp is the only goalkeeper to see time for the Tigers in 2024 and he will enter Friday's game with a 1.24 goals against average and a .738 save percentage.
- Trapp has posted four shutouts an turned aside 59 opponent shots.
League Leaders
- Tobolski enters Friday's contest as the league leader in total points and ranks second in the Liberty League in total goals and game winning goals.
- Keker paces the conference in points per game (2.13).
- Mejia is tied for the conference lead in total assists.
- Raphan is tied for sixth in total shutouts, eighth in goals against average and 10th in save percentage.
Regular Season Matchup
- The Brewers cruised to a 5-1 win over RIT on November 2.
- Keker led the offense with two goals and an assist.
- Mejia scored the game winning goal and added a helper.
- Tobolski picked up two assists in the victory.
- Vassar outshot RIT 23-5 overall and 12-1 in shots on goal.
- Corner kicks went to the Brewers 10-4.
Recent History Against RIT
- Saturday's 5-1 win marked the third straight victory for Vassar over RIT.
- Since the start of the 2011 season, the two teams have met 15 times with Vassar holding a 10-3-2 record.
- The two sides last met in the conference championship on November 5, 2019. The two teams played to a 1-1 draw in the First Round with RIT advancing on penalty kicks.
- Vassar topped RIT in the 2011 Championship Final, earning the program's first Liberty League title.
Recent Liberty League Championship History
- 2024 marks the eighth straight year there has been a championship contested (no championship in 2020) that Vassar has qualified.
- The Brewers have won two Liberty League titles to date, winning in both 2011 and 2016.
- Vassar's last win in the conference championship tournament came in a 1-0 win over St. Lawrence on November 4, 2017.
- The Brewers' last title was secured with a 3-2 victory over Skidmore on November 5, 2016.
- Vassar's first Liberty League crown was earned with a 3-2 victory over RIT on November 5, 2011.
What's At Stake
- The winner of Friday's contest in Poughkeepsie will meet the winner of the St. Lawrence and Skidmore semifinal on Sunday for the right to represent the Liberty League in the NCAA Tournament.
