No. 8 Brewers Down Knights To Claim Sixth Straight Betty Richey Title

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The No. 8 Vassar field hockey team kept the momentum rolling from Friday night, defeating SUNY Geneseo 4-1 in the Betty Richey Championship game on Saturday afternoon. Four different players scored for the Brewers. In the consolation game, Stevens defeated Marywood 2-1. The victory gives Vassar nine titles all time, which ties William Patterson for the most. Senior Cristina Lopez (Timonium, MD) was named the tournament MVP, while seniors Stephanie Palma (Manhasset, NY) and Sam Plante(Watertown, MA), junior Nikki Pallotta (Clarence, NY), and sophomore Sophie McGrath(Yarmouth, ME) were all-tournament honorees. Vassar wasted no time getting on the board, as Lopez rocketed the shot into Knights' goalkeeper at 2:28. Geneseo's Natalie Chojnacki connected for the save, but deflected the ball into Heidi Zahnleuter (Clifton Park, NY) who slipped the shot into the net. The Brewers offense controlled the first half, outshooting the visitors 11-2 and tacking on another score midway through the second quarter. Geneseo regained possession near their goal after a Niki Rizzo (Andover, NJ) shot on Chojnacki. Junior Grace Amell (West Hartford, CT) then waited patiently to intercept the Knights' pass attempt to net her first goal of the season. POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The No. 8 Vassar field hockey team kept the momentum rolling from Friday night, defeating SUNY Geneseo 4-1 in the Betty Richey Championship game on Saturday afternoon. Four different players scored for the Brewers. In the consolation game, Stevens defeated Marywood 2-1.The victory gives Vassar nine titles all time, which ties William Patterson for the most. Senior Cristina Lopez (Timonium, MD) was named the tournament MVP, while seniors Stephanie Palma (Manhasset, NY) and Sam Plante (Watertown, MA), junior Nikki Pallotta (Clarence, NY), and sophomore Sophie McGrath (Yarmouth, ME) were all-tournament honorees.Vassar wasted no time getting on the board, as Lopez rocketed the shot into Knights' goalkeeper at 2:28. Geneseo's Natalie Chojnacki connected for the save, but deflected the ball into Heidi Zahnleuter (Clifton Park, NY) who slipped the shot into the net.The Brewers offense controlled the first half, outshooting the visitors 11-2 and tacking on another score midway through the second quarter. Geneseo regained possession near their goal after a Niki Rizzo (Andover, NJ) shot on Chojnacki. Junior Grace Amell (West Hartford, CT) then waited patiently to intercept the Knights' pass attempt to net her first goal of the season.Up 2-0 at the half, the Brewers appeared to be taking over, but the Knights would not go away that easily in the third. A yellow card at 34:50 and a green at 36:47 on Vassar allowed the Knights to take a 13-1 shot advantage in the quarter. Geneseo's Haley Clark nearly scored off an Erin Nolan corner at 35:01, but Ally Aquilina-Piscitello (Lexington, MA) was there to make the defensive save. Nolan collected the rebound right after, but struck post on her shot attempt.Freshman goalkeeper Jules Smith (Mullica Hills, NJ) made three saves in a 30 second span before the Knights' Jordan Penkitis snuck in the score at 38:29. The Vassar newcomer was not rattled though, recording six more saves in the quarter to keep the score 2-1.The Brewers locked down on defense again in the fourth, allowing only one shot. While Vassar took just five shots in the quarter, two of them found the back of the net. Palma inserted the penalty corner at 51:21 perfectly to Rylie Pope (San Diego, CA) at the top of the circle. With Pope left wide open, she launched the shot straight past the Knights' goalkeeper to extend the lead to 3-1. Four minutes later, Lopez made a clean pass from the inside left of the circle to Palma to put the game away. goalkeeper Jules Smith (Mullica Hills, NJ) made three saves in a 30 second span before the Knights' Jordan Penkitis snuck in the score at 38:29. The Vassar newcomer was not rattled though, recording six more saves in the quarter to keep the score 2-1. The Brewers locked down on defense again in the fourth, allowing only one shot. While Vassar took just five shots in the quarter, two of them found the back of the net. Palma inserted the penalty corner at 51:21 perfectly to Rylie Pope (San Diego, CA) at the top of the circle. With Pope left wide open, she launched the shot straight past the Knights' goalkeeper to extend the lead to 3-1. Four minutes later, Lopez made a clean pass from the inside left of the circle to Palma to put the game away.