Poughkeepsie, NY – The Vassar College Men's Soccer team will appear in the Liberty League Championship Final for the third straight year and will look for its second title in three seasons Sunday afternoon when it travels to top seed #7 St. Lawrence Sunday afternoon. Kick-off in the North Country is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. with Live Stats and Video available for those unable to attend.
Quick Hitters
- Vassar enters the title tilt with a 7-5-6 overall record following a 2-0 semifinal victory over Ithaca on Friday.
- The Brewers won the 2024 league championship against the Saints on penalty kicks following a 0-0 draw.
- In addition to winning the 2024 crown, Vassar has now appeared in the final in 2025 and 2026.
- The Brewers have won three previous league championships.
- St. Lawrence and Vassar are the top two seeds in the championship bracket.
- Vassar enters the championship final ranked eighth in the conference in goals (22) and sixth in the league in goals allowed (21).
A Look At The Brewers
- Sophomore Alejandro Martinez (Lake Mary, FL) paces the Brewers' offense with team-highs in goals (6), assists (4) and points (16).
- Senior Mauricio Mejia (Miami, FL) has scored in three straight games, including the second goal in Friday's victory over Ithaca.
- Sophomore Zapp Hotz (Ridgewood, NY) has tallied three times for the Brewers and ranks third on the team with eight points.
- Seniors Jackson Allen (Chapel Hill, NC) and Eli Torrey (Philadelphia, PA) have each scored twice with Allen recording the deciding goal in Friday's semifinal win.
- In goal, Jacob Raphan (Oceanside, NY) has posted three straight shutouts for the Brewers and enters Sunday's game with 60 saves to go along with a .759 save percentage and a 1.12 goals against average.
Scouting The Saints
- St. Lawrence begins play on Sunday with an 11-1-4 overall record and is ranked #7 in the United Soccer Coaches Top-25.
- The Saints eased to a 4-1 semifinal win over Skidmore on Friday.
- Nicholas Petronel leads the Saints' offense with 23 points on the strength of seven goals and nine assists.
- Baker Diaz checks in with 15 points, scoring five times and helping on five other goals.
- Sammy Bothwell and Grant Gilmer round out a quartet of Saints with double-figure points with 14 and 12, respectively.
- In goal, Zach Amato has started 15 contests to date and has produced seven shutouts while turning away 61 shots. Amato holds an. 884 save percentage and a 0.55 goals against average.
- St. Lawrence will start the game on Sunday second in the conference in goals (32) and the league leader in goals allowed, surrendering just 12 tallies to date in 2026.
Regular Season Result
- The two sides played to a 1-1 draw in Canton on October 10.
- Hotz opened the scoring for Vassar in the 13th minute with Martinez supplying the assist.
- The Saints evened the score in the 64th minute on Petrone's sixth goal of the year.
- Raphan made five saves in goal for the Brewers.
- Amato finished the draw with four stops for St. Lawrence.
- Vassar outshot St. Lawrence 16-10 and held the advantage in corner kicks 6-3.
Recent History vs. St. Lawrence
- Sunday's matchup will be the 31st between the two teams since the start of the 2000 season with the Saints holding a slight 12-11-8 advantage in the series.
- Vassar is unbeaten in the last seven meetings with St. Lawrence, going 3-0-4 over that stretch.
- Vassar scored a 4-1 win over St. Lawrence in the First Round of the 2025 Liberty League Championship.
- The two teams played a scoreless draw in the 2024 Championship Final with Vassar claiming the crown 4-3 on penalty kicks.
Recent Liberty League Championship History
- Vassar has qualified for the league championship tournament the last 10 seasons it has been contested.
- The Brewers won the 2024 league championship and have also won the conference crown in 2011 and 1016.
- Vassar will make its third straight championship final appearance when Sunday's contest kicks-off.
What's At Stake
- Sunday's winner will claim the league championship title and earn the Liberty's League automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament.
