Poughkeepsie, NY - The defending Liberty League champion Vassar College Field Hockey team begins its 2026 season on the road against Castleton on Friday afternoon before returning home for its home opener against SUNY Geneseo on Sunday afternoon. Vassar was selected as the preseason favorite in the Liberty League Preseason Coaches Poll last week.

A Glance Back at 2025

• Vassar completed an epic turnaround from the season prior as the Brewers recorded a 13-7 overall record and a 5-2 mark in conference play to earn the top seed in the Liberty League Championship.
• The Brewers earned a comeback 2-1 victory in the semifinals against William Smith and followed it up with a 4-2 win over Union to earn the program's third conference crown and the first since 2018.
• VC collected three All-Liberty League and All-Region selections along with graduating senior Sofia Beseth becoming the program's fourth NFHCA All-American selection.
• VC finished second in the conference in scoring margin, third in goals scored and third in goals allowed.

Previewing The Roster

• Vassar returns 88% of its scoring from a season ago, led by junior Zoe Robinson who finished with 13 goals and 27 points on the year, which ranked third in the Liberty League.
• NFHCA All-Region selection senior Karina Hoffman finished with 10 goals and a team-high five assists for 25 points.
• Sophomore Sophia Jammar tallied six goals last season along with sophomore Julia Morris notching five goals and three assists.
• Junior Mackenzie Allen and sophomore Sierra Chow both totaled 11 points (four goals and three assists) last season.
• Sophomores Sydney Yu and Autumn Dowiak along with junior Hannah Lees both finished with two goals a season ago.
• Sophomore Audrey Izzo posted four points in 2025 while sophomore Sophie Gono and junior Jessica Pawloski added two assists each.
• Senior Anna Hazewindus and All-Region selection junior Sophie Rosenblum return on defense as both registered a defensive save.
• Sophomore Sydney Day, junior Bailey Mann and junior Ava Salvati also return as key cogs in the midfield and forward positions.
• Sophomore Elena Girault returns following injury a season ago and juniors Ella Martin and Kate Taylor also return on the backline.
• Senior Grace Wiley returns in goal for the Brewers after starting all 20 games and recording a goals against average of 1.23. which ranked third in the conference.
• Sophomore Ellie Rosen also returns in net after appearing in six games last season and recording nine saves.
• Vassar welcomes five newcomers in 2026 as sophomore Remy Phan transfers in from the University of Richmond along with first years Langdon Chu, Charlotte Bean, Lola Gentile and Kendra Pitts.

Preseason Poll

1. Vassar, 47 (5)
2. Union, 45 (3)
3. Ithaca, 32
4. Rochester, 31
5. William Smith, 27
6. RPI, 22
7. Skidmore, 13
8. St. Lawrence, 7

Head Coach

• Fowler enters her fourth season at the helm of the Brewers as she led Vassar to its first conference title in 2025 since 2018 and completed a strong bounce back season to return to the NCAA Tournament for just the third time in program history.
• In her three seasons, Fowler has mentored two NFHCA All-Americans, six NFHCA All-Region and 10 All-Liberty League selections.

The Schedule

• Following the opening weekend, Vassar heads to Montclair State on September 9 before returning home to clash with nationally-ranked Wesleyan on September 12.
• The Brewers then travel to Kean on September 16 before beginning a two-game homestand against Stevens (Sept. 19) and Scranton (Sept. 22).
• VC heads north to face off with nationally-ranked Christopher Newport in Boston on September 26 along with Roger Williams on September 27.
• The conference slate begins on October 2 at home against Rochester followed by a road trip to William Smith on October 4.
• Vassar heads to the South Hill to square off with Ithaca on October 10 and returns home to take on NESCAC foe Colby on October 11.
• The Brewers continue conference play on October 16 at home against Skidmore before heading north to take on St. Lawrence on October 18.
• VC closes conference play with a conference title rematch against Union on October 24 and heads to RPI on the 31st for the conference finale.
• The Liberty League Championship First Round begins on Tuesday, November 3 followed by the semifinals on November 6 and the conference champion being crowned on November 8.