Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Vassar College Athletics

Official Site of VASSAR Athletics
Gianna Panarelli
Stockton Photo, Inc.

Women's Soccer

Buckley Era Begins Tuesday At Mount Saint Mary

Brewers coming off first ever Liberty League title

Poughkeepsie, NY – The 2025 Liberty League Champion Vassar Women's Soccer team will take the field for the first time under new Head Coach Madeline Buckley September 1 when it travels across the Hudson to take on local foe Mount Saint Mary. The season opener will be the first of four straight road games to open the season with Live Stats and Video available for the 7:30 p.m. kick-off in Newburgh, NY.
 
Quick Hitters
  • Vassar won a program record 16 games a season ago, posting a 16-4 overall record and an 8-1 mark in Liberty League play.
  • The Brewers won the first Liberty League title in program history with a 1-0 win over RIT in the Championship Final.
  • Vassar made its second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2025, falling to eventual National Quarterfinalist Mary Washington 1-0 in the First Round.
  • The Brewers return their top three goal scorers from a season ago in Ava Holman (St. Louis, MO) (10), Gianna Panarelli (Jensen Beach, FL) (9) and Sonya Franklin (Saxtons River, VT) (8).
  • Laura Shea (Swarthmore, PA) is back after starting all 19 games in goal as a sophomore and posting a 0.73 goals against average and a .822 save percentage while turning aside 60 opponent shots.
  • Vassar outscored its opponents 50-14 in 2025, including 26-6 in conference play.
  • The Brewers will take the field in 2026 with the last two Liberty League Rookies of the Year with Alice Crowley (St. Louis, MO) winning the award in 2024 and Holman claiming the honor in 2025.
  • Vassar returns five All-Liberty League picks from 2025, but will be tasked with replacing First Team selections Riley McGrath, Rebecca Rodriguez and Liberty League Championship Most Outstanding Player Lindsey Nihei.
Forward
  • Panarelli had a standout year as a junior resulting in a First Team All-Liberty League pick to go along with Third Team All-American and Second Team Scholar All-American selections from the United Soccer Coaches.
  • Panarelli closed the 2025 season with 21 points on the strength of nine goals and three assists with four goals resulting in the game deciding marker.
  • Holman, a Second Team selection and the conference Rookie of the Year in 2025, paced the Brewers with 10 goals and 23 points as a rookie. Holman scored a team-high five game winning goals, including the deciding tally in a 1-0 win over RIT in the Liberty League Championship Final.
  • Caroline Sheehan (Springfield, IL) returns after producing seven points on the strength of three goals and an assist as a rookie.
  • Also back for the Brewers are Samantha Ehrenreich (Palmetto Bay, FL) who produced two assists in 2025 and Liv Ivie (Agoura Hills, CA) who was limited to just one game due to injury as a sophomore.
  • Senior Grace Romano (Bordentown, NJ) returns to action in 2026 after missing last season due to injury. Romano produced four goals as a sophomore during the 2024 campaign.
  • Crowley also returns to the field for Vassar in 2026 after missing the 2025 season due to injury. On the way to being named the Liberty League Rookie of the Year in 2024, Crowley totaled 27 points on the strength of 12 goals and three assists, tallying four game winning goals.
  • Reese Yowell (Palmyra, VA) joins the position group in 2026 along with fellow First Years Zoe Sharaf (Middleton, WI) and Morgan Signore (Newbury, MA) who will also see time in the midfield.
 
Midfield
  • Sophomore Elena Valle (rocky Hill, CT) is the top returning point producer out of the midfield for Vassar, registering 12 points on the strength of four goals and four assists as a rookie in 2025.
  • Junior Lucy Hart (Portland, ME) appeared in 20 games and made 18 starts a season ago, logging 1,333 minutes and registering five points on the strength of a pair of markers and an assist.
  • Juniors Olivia Spektor (Lawrenceville, NJ) and Mollie McLaughlin (Seattle, WA) both return for the Brewers with McLaughlin seeing time in eight games as a sophomore and Spector totaling a goal and two assists in 10 games played.
  • Senior Maddie Wolf (Mars, PA) is back in the fold in 2026 after being limited to just two games due to injury in 2025. As a sophomore in 2024, Wolf started 18 games for the Brewers and tallied one goal.
  • Newcomers joining the Brewers in 2026 include: Amelia Cherry (Chapel Hill, NC), Ava Cipolla (Parkland, FL) and Anna Mayor (Mountain Brook, AL).
 
Defense
  • A stingy Vassar defense that allowed just 0.70 goals per game in 2025 welcomes back five players from last season's squad, including a pair of All-Conference selections.
  • Senior Cecelia Wager (Brookline, MA) was named Third Team All-Liberty League a season ago, starting 18 games on the backline and leading field players with 1,527 minutes played.
  • Franklin, also a Third Team All-Conference pick as a rookie, played 1,187 minutes and finished third on the team in both goals (8) and points (18).
  • Sophomore Anna Arban (Temecula, CA) appeared in 19 games and made 13 starts as a rookie in 2025, playing better than 1,200 minutes on the backline and chipping in one goal on the offensive end.
  • Also returning to the defensive unit in 2026 are sophomores Braelynn Tomanio (Alexandria, VA) who scored a goal in 10 games played and Anya Halkovich (Santa Rosa, CA) who saw time in 12 contests.
  • Joining the defensive corps in 2026 are newcomers Abby Diaz (Torrance, CA), Claire Vrahoretis (Valparaiso, IN) and Maddie Harmon (Torrance, CA).
 
Goalkeeper
  • Shea headlines the goalkeeping group in 2026 following a Third Team All-Liberty League selection in 2025. Shea finished third in the Liberty League in both goals against average (0.73) and total shutouts (7) and ranked fifth in save percentage (.822) a season ago.
  • Senior Isabella Stevens-Mercado (Ann Arbor, MI) saw time in two games last season, earning the win in goal against Bard on 9/24.
  • Emily McMahon (Mill Valley, CA) appeared in four contests as a rookie in 2025, combining on three shutouts and making five saves in just under 130 minutes of work.
 
Captains
  • Seniors Panarelli, Romano, Wager and Wolf will serve as team captains for the 2026 season.
 
Head Coach
  • Buckley joins the Brewers after leading the women's program at Macalester the previous four seasons.
  • While with the Scots, Buckley guided the squad to the MIAC Tournament three times, including back-to-back appearances in 2022 and 2023 which marked the first time the program had made consecutive appearances in the event in better than a decade.
  • As a player at William Smith, Buckley was named the Liberty League Player of the Year in 2014 and the league's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2015.
  • Buckley earned an NSCAA All-American citation while with the Herons and captained William Smith to the National Championship in 2013.
 
Schedule
  • The Brewers open the season with four challenging road contests in 2026, including the season opener against the Knights.
  • Vassar travels to Scranton on September 5 and closes the season opening road trip with back-to-back games at the University of Mount Saint Vincent on September 12 and nationally ranked Middlebury on September 13.
  • The final non-conference game of the season comes at home on October 11 when the Brewers play host to Sarah Lawrence.
  • The Brewers welcome NYU to Gordon Field for the home opener on September 19 before Liberty League play commences against Bard at home on September 23.
  • The home conference schedule also includes RIT, in a rematch of last season's championship final (10/3), St. Lawrence (10/10) and Senior Day against Skidmore (10/24).
  • Road league tilts include visits to Ithaca (9/26), Union (10/7), William Smith (10/17), RPI (10/21) and the regular season finale at Clarkson (10/31).
  • The Liberty League Championship begins with the First Round on November 3 and continues with the Semifinals on November 6 and Final on November 8.
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Riley McGrath

#21 Riley McGrath

F
5' 7"
Senior
Lindsey Nihei

#20 Lindsey Nihei

D
5' 3"
Senior
Rebecca Rodriguez

#4 Rebecca Rodriguez

M
5' 3"
Senior
Anna Arban

#5 Anna Arban

D
5' 8"
Sophomore
Alice Crowley

#9 Alice Crowley

F
5' 10"
Junior
Samantha Ehrenreich

#29 Samantha Ehrenreich

F
5' 6"
Sophomore
Sonya Franklin

#3 Sonya Franklin

D
5' 7"
Sophomore
Anya Halkovich

#25 Anya Halkovich

D
5' 8"
Sophomore
Lucy Hart

#4 Lucy Hart

M
5' 5"
Junior
Ava Holman

#17 Ava Holman

F
5' 11"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Riley McGrath

#21 Riley McGrath

5' 7"
Senior
F
Lindsey Nihei

#20 Lindsey Nihei

5' 3"
Senior
D
Rebecca Rodriguez

#4 Rebecca Rodriguez

5' 3"
Senior
M
Anna Arban

#5 Anna Arban

5' 8"
Sophomore
D
Alice Crowley

#9 Alice Crowley

5' 10"
Junior
F
Samantha Ehrenreich

#29 Samantha Ehrenreich

5' 6"
Sophomore
F
Sonya Franklin

#3 Sonya Franklin

5' 7"
Sophomore
D
Anya Halkovich

#25 Anya Halkovich

5' 8"
Sophomore
D
Lucy Hart

#4 Lucy Hart

5' 5"
Junior
M
Ava Holman

#17 Ava Holman

5' 11"
Sophomore
F