ITHACA, N.Y. – The top two seeds in the Liberty League will square off at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Higgins Stadium as No. 1 Ithaca College and No. 2 Vassar College will compete for a league championship and automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship. Ithaca is 14-4 on the season and Vassar, which has been nationally ranked most of the season, is 12-6.
Follow all the action on Saturday here:
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LIBERTY LEAGUE HISTORY:
Since 2003, four different Liberty League affiliates have won the conference championship – Rochester, Skidmore, William Smith and Vassar.
Skidmore has eight titles – 2003, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016
William Smith has won six times – 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2015
Rochester has won twice – 2017, 2019
Vassar has one championship – 2018
LIBERTY LEAGUE SEMIFINALS:
Ithaca and Vassar advanced to Saturday's championship game after posting wins on Wednesday in the semifinal round.
Vassar hosted St. Lawrence and came away with a 4-0 victory. Four different Brewers scored in the 4-0 victory against the Saints on Wednesday afternoon to allow the Vassar field hockey team to reach the Liberty League finals. Vassar had one of its strongest performances of the season and held St. Lawrence to four shot attempts (two on goal).
Hailey Brigger, Max Meijaard, Sam Kass and Ella Pearl all tallied goals for the Brewers on Wednesday.
Sarah Dumaresq earned a save in goal for Vassar to pick up the win, while Avery Bauman had a defensive save.
Top-seeded Ithaca used late goals to rally past No. 4 University of Rochester for an emphatic 2-1 victory in double overtime. The triumph also marks head coach
Kaitlyn Wahila's 100th career win – 46th victory as IC's head coach.
Rochester took a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute of the contest and the Yellowjackets held onto that advantage until
Morgan Mullen knotted the game at 1-1 on a penalty stroke with just over five minutes remaining in regulation. Midway through the second overtime period,
Natalie Descalso ended the contest on the golden goal.
Macy Brandwein made five saves in her 11th victory of the season.
ITHACA VS. VASSAR – THE SERIES:
Ithaca and Vassar have played each other four times since 2017, the series is tied at 2-2.
Vassar won the 2017 and 2018 matchups by 1-0 scores, but the Bombers have taken the last two contests – 3-0 and 1-0.
On October 15, IC upset then-No. 15 Vassar, 1-0, on a late fourth quarter goal at Weinberg Field in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
With under four minutes remaining in regulation, the Bombers set up a scoring change with a corner.
Jacqueline Mirabile started the play with a pass to
Victoria Sestito, who sent a shot on target. The bouncing shot hopped up into Sarah Dumaresq's chest protector and fell to the ground.
Grace Ziehnert up the loose ball and found the back of the net to give the Bombers a 1-0 lead with 3:36 on the clock, which resulted in the game-winning goal.
IC outshot Vassar, 8-6, while the Brewers held a 5-4 edge in corners.
THE NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIP:
The 2021 DIII field hockey selections will be released Sunday, Nov. 7. The selections will mark the DIII field hockey championship's return after getting canceled in 2020. You can find this year's complete field and official bracket on NCAA.com.
Here's what you need to know.
When: The 2021 DIII field hockey championship selections will be revealed on Sunday, Nov. 7.
Where: The selections and bracket will be released on NCAA.com.
Trinity College will host the semifinal and national championship rounds at Robin Sheppard Field in Hartford, Connecticut, November 20-21. The semifinal and national championship rounds will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
Below is the schedule for the 2021 DIII field hockey championships:
First round
- Wednesday, Nov. 10 | Multiple Sites
Second round
- Saturday, Nov. 13 | Multiple Sites
Third round
- Sunday, Nov. 14 | Multiple Sites
Semifinals
- Saturday, Nov. 20 | Semifinal I: 11 a.m. ET | Robin Sheppard Field in Hartford, Conn.
- Saturday, Nov. 20 | Semifinal II: 2 p.m. ET | Robin Sheppard Field in Hartford, Conn.
National Championship
- Sunday, Nov. 21 | National Championship: 1 p.m. ET | Robin Sheppard Field in Hartford, Conn.
