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Vassar Celebrates “Winning-est” Season
Four of the eight fall squads reached post-season play, and the women’s rugby team won its fourth national championship in six years, avenging a bitter loss in the finals the year before to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, 24–5, on December 8 in Houston, TX.
The women’s soccer team earned a selection to the NCAA Division III tournament for only the second time in school history and won its opening-round game for the first time, a 1–0 win over St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
The men’s soccer team won the Liberty League Championship in thrilling style, defeating St. Lawrence University, 4–3, in a penalty kick shootout after finishing two overtimes in a 0–0 tie. The Brewers won their first-round match in the NCAA tournament, defeating 12th-ranked Rowan University, 3–0.
And the women’s cross country team captured its second straight Liberty League title and went on to finish 20th—its best result ever—in the NCAA Division III Championship, led by a second-place finish by Haley Schoenegge ’27, best performance ever for a Vassar runner.
Asked if the loss the previous year to Wisconsin-Eau Claire in last year’s rugby championship game had been a motivating factor in this year’s success, team Co-Captain Zoe Lynch ’25 just smiled. “It was on our minds from the first practice,” she said.
And what did she say to the team before they took the field for this year’s final? “Nothing needed to be said,” Lynch deadpanned.
Coach Tony Brown said he knew the loss had helped propel the team to a 15–0 record this season, adding that he believed the rugby team’s success has had something to do with the recent success of other Vassar teams. “We all cheer each other on, and that has helped Vassar sports to become really competitive,” Brown said.
Co-Captain Andie Authers ’25 said the bonds she had forged with her teammates, coaches, and former players would be a part of her life forever. “Rugby was my Vassar experience,” she said. “There’s something truly empowering about it that I will carry into all phases of my life.”
Schoenegge and others on the women’s cross country team said the bonds they had formed with their teammates had gotten them through some rough patches early in the season. “Instead of being the underdogs who had something to prove, it felt like we had something to lose,” she said. “This caused some tension and disconnect within the team in the early parts of the season. There was a lot of uncertainty and frustration in navigating it all, but one thing that never wavered was our love and support for each other.”
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Co-Captains Noni Pattington ’25 and Sophie Farr ’25 said they convened a team meeting in mid-October to talk about the team’s struggles. “We talked about how we were running with fear this year, unlike last year,” Pattington said.
After that meeting, the results began to show on the course, Farr said, as the team’s sense of camaraderie returned, something she will carry with her into the future. “I think the sense of community I felt here with the team will help me navigate the world we’re about to go into,” she said.
Men’s soccer Co-Captain Duncan Keker ’25 said he had chosen Vassar for its strong academics but also for the culture of caring that has been a part of the team for many years. “The friendships I’ve made here will remain with me forever,” said Keker, who led off the shootout with a goal in the Liberty League Championship game against St. Lawrence. “The leadership skills I learned here will help me later in life. I’ve grown a lot as a person, and soccer is a big reason why.”
Co-Captain Charlie Rodhouse ’25 said he would remember the season for the mental toughness the team had displayed. “What separated us this season was our reaction after losing the games that we did,” Rodhouse said. “The following practice would always be done with a higher level of focus and accountability toward the teammates than any other practice. As the season went on, the style of play that we implemented and chemistry between the players continued to grow exponentially.”
Coach Jonathan Hood said he especially enjoyed seeing this team succeed because of the players’ sense of unity and passion. “We were unranked when we played Rowan in the NCAAs,” he said, “but our attitude was, ‘Let’s go play our game, enjoy it, and have no regrets.’”
Women’s soccer coach Keith Simons said he had a hunch at the start of the season that the team “had all the pieces” to be an NCAA tournament team. “When we beat Ithaca, a team ranked eighth in the country, that told us we belonged in the NCAA conversation,” Simons said.
Co-Captain London Wilkes ’25 noted that the team had just missed receiving a bid to the national tournament the year before, “And we were determined not to let that happen again. Our unwavering belief and motivation to push each other at every practice and game truly allowed us to achieve what we did this season.”
Co-Captain Noelle Namba ’25 said she would always be proud of the team’s unprecedented accomplishment. “Winning a hard-fought NCAA game, the first in Vassar Women’s Soccer history, was a testament to all the 7:00 a.m. practices, late-night practices, and tough games we had throughout the season,” Namba said. “Making it to the NCAAs sets a standard for future teams to follow and build on.”
Co-Captain Riley Lipman said it was fitting that the team had achieved this goal in Simons’s fourth year of coaching the team. “We, as seniors, were a part of the incoming class that arrived at the same time Coach Keith was brought into the program,” Lipman said. “Each year, we have built upon the progress of the previous season and worked to cultivate a positive and cohesive team culture with a winning mentality. From our very first season together, we have stated that our goal was to compete in NCAAs—and this finally came to fruition through hard work and dedication to our team’s high expectations and standards.”