Box Score Oct. 18: The St. Lawrence University women's soccer team kept its playoff hopes alive on Friday, as senior Julia Friesen's sixth goal of the season came in the final minute of the first half proved to be enough for a 1-0 victory over Vassar College at Sandy MacAllaster Field. 

St. Lawrence sophomore keeper Kelsey West made seven second half saves, including a brilliant stop on Kamaria Coley with under 7:00 minutes to play in regulation, to secure her team's first Liberty League win and snap a four-game losing skid.  The Saints are now 7-4-2 (1-4-0), while Vassar falls to 5-6-2 (0-3-1).

"I was very proud of the team's performance today.  They played with a lot of heart, determination and never gave up," said St. Lawrence head coach Franco Bair.  "While we had the better of the first half, I was very impressed with the way we defended in the second half to preserve the shut out."

The Scarlet and Brown had the better of the play in the first half on a blustery evening, outshooting Vassar 8-4 in the frame.  Though the Brewers were able to protect their netminder Stephanie Tapolsky the Saints' fourth corner kick of the first half proved to be costly for the visitors.  Junior Holly Wark fired the corner into the box to Friesen, who headed the ball over Tapolsky for the 1-0 lead with only 57.3 seconds remaining until intermission. 

Though the opening portion of the second half was a back-and-forth affair, Vassar began to push the ball up field and create several excellent scoring chances.  The back row did an excellent job for the Saints, but a breakdown in the midfield sprung Vassar's Coley on a rush towards West's net.  Despite the breakaway try, West came out of her net and made a sliding save, colliding with Coley but hanging on to the ball to keep the home team on top, 1-0.

Vassar worked to create chances in the final minutes, including another bid by Emily Krebs, but they failed to solve West, falling by the 1-0 final.

Vassar's 11-4 advantage in shots in the second half gave the Brewers a 15-12 lead in the game.  West finished with eight saves in the contest while Tapolsky had six, with St. Lawrence finishing with a solid 5-2 edge in corner kicks.

The Saints will look to keep their postseason hopes alive again tomorrow, Saturday, October 19, when they host Bard College at 2:00pm.  Vassar will head to Potsdam, NY to face Clarkson, also at 2:00pm.