Poughkeepsie, NY – Led by four goals apiece from First Year
Emilia DiLiberto (Allison Park, PA) and sophomore
Tess Billings (Deerfield, IL), the Vassar College Women's Lacrosse team halted a seven-game slide Saturday afternoon with an impressive 17-11 home win over visiting RIT. Vassar featured six players with at least two goals in the contest and in goal,
Lauren Johns (Havertown, PA) made the 400th save of her career.
Vassar moves to 2-8 overall on the season and 1-4 in conference play with Saturday's victory, while RIT slips back to the .500 mark at 5-5 overall and falls to 1-4 in Liberty League play.
How It Happened
- Vassar raced out to a 3-0 lead just under four minutes into the game on goals from DiLiberto, Kali Ringler (North Andover, MA) and Billings.
- RIT came back with the next two goals before the Brewers ripped off three more to take a 6-2 lead on Ringler's second of the game at the 14:14 mark of the second quarter.
- The two sides traded the final two goals of the first half with a DiLiberto marker at the 2:53 mark of the period giving Vassar a 7-3 advantage, a lead it would carry into the intermission.
- RIT outshot Vassar 17-14 overall before halftime, while the Brewers finished the half with an 11-10 edge in shots on goal.
- First half draw controls were even at 6-6 with the Tigers finishing the half with a slim 8-6 advantage in groundballs.
- Vassar broke the game open with nine goals in the third frame, outscoring RIT 9-4 coming out of halftime.
- After the Tigers scored the first two goals of the third quarter, the Brewers ran off five straight goals to surge in front 12-5 on a Ringler tally with 6:33 left in the quarter.
- Vassar went on to close the third quarter on a 4-1 scoring run, getting back-to-back goals from Lola Wright (Palisades, NY) and Maeve Faigel (North Andover, MA) to carry a 16-7 lead into the final 15 minutes.
- RIT would tally the first four goals of the fourth quarter before Billings scored for the fourth time in the game in the final minute to give Vassar the final 17-11 decision.
For The Brewers
- Billings led the scoring attack with seven points in the game, scoring four times and assisting on three other goals. Billings finished off a strong game with two groundballs, a caused turnover and five draw controls.
- DiLiberto continued a strong rookie season with four goals and six points, adding five groundballs, a caused turnover and seven draw controls.
- Ringler netted a hat trick and went 2-for-2 in free-position chances.
- Wright closed out the win with two goals and an assist, adding two groundballs and a caused turnover.
- Faigel and fellow First Year Siena Wong (Scotts Valley, CA) each scored twice for the Brewers.
- Catherine Peacock (Stockton, NJ) won six draw controls in the victory.
- Emma Larson (Ramsey, NJ) forced a team-high two turnovers for the Brewers.
- Johns earned the win in goal after making eight saves to go along with a caused turnover and a groundball. Johns has now made 402 career saves, inlcuding 89 to date in 2024.
For The Tigers
- Serafina Kiselgof led all players with five goals in the game, adding a groundball and a draw control.
- Morgan Nichter scored three times for the Tigers.
- Emma Ripley potted two goals and collected two groundballs.
- Katherine Killian won seven draw controls, collected four groundballs and forced two turnovers.
- Lily DePalma scored a goal and won two draws.
- Ellie Ruddy finished with 10 saves in goal.
Game Statistics
- Vassar outshot RIT 34-29 overall and 27-19 in shots on goal.
- Vassar finished with a 19-13 advantage in draw controls.
- Groundballs went to RIT by an 18-14 count.
- Vassar went 8-for-12 in clears.
- RIT finished 12-for-14 in clearing chances.
What's Next
- Vassar travels to league rival Bard on Wednesday.
- RIT heads to Rochester on Wednesday.
