SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – For the first time since 2010, the Union College field hockey team has qualified for the Liberty League Tournament and the fifth-seeded Garnet Chargers will head to fourth-seeded Vassar College for the first round of the postseason on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
 
LIVE COVERAGE: For those that can't make it to Poughkeepsie, Vassar will offer live stats and live video for Tuesday's match.

THE TEAMS: Union (11-7, 4-3 Liberty League) is seeded fifth in the Liberty League Tournament and will face off with fourth-seeded Vassar (10-6, 5-2 Liberty League) in the first round. Ithaca College (13-5, 6-1 Liberty League) earned the top seed, while William Smith College (11-7, 5-2 Liberty League) and the University of Rochester (14-6, 5-2 Liberty League) joined Vassar in a three-way tie for second place.
 
POSTSEASON HISTORY: Union is making its sixth appearance in the Liberty League Tournament and first since the 2010 season, when the team finished a string of four straight postseason berths. The Garnet Chargers have never won a conference tournament game (0-5) and have lost their last 11 postseason contests overall, with the team's last taste of postseason success coming in 1988, when Union captured the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Tournament title and also went 2-1 at the NYSWCAA Championships.
 
UNION VS. VASSAR: Union and Vassar have met 46 times in program history, with Union holding a 32-14 edge in the all-time series thanks in large part to winning 22 of the first 23 meetings. The Brewers have won the last five games between the two teams, all coming via shutout, and also have won the last five meetings in Poughkeepsie.
 
LAST MEETING: These two teams faced off in Schenectady just 11 days ago, with Vassar escaping with a 1-0 win. The only goal of the game came in the final seconds of the second quarter from VC's Sydney Kovel, while sophomore Sophie Brady made seven saves to keep Union in the game. The home team nearly tied the score on multiple occasions in the final minutes, including a shot by sophomore Megan Dorsey that hit off the post with under two minutes remaining.
 
ABOUT UNION: The Garnet Chargers finished the regular season with an 11-7 record and a 4-3 mark in the Liberty League to place fifth. The team reached the 11-win plateau for the second straight season in 2023, the first time that has happened since 2007-08 and only the third time in program history (2006-07). The 11 wins are tied for fourth-most in a season in program history, behind only the 1988 (17), 2008 (14) and 2007 (12) teams. The squad's four conference victories are also tied for the most ever in a regular season and are the most since 2010.
 
GOAL ORIENTED: Union leads the Liberty League and ranks 43rd nationally by averaging 3.17 goals per game in 2023, having scored 57 goals in 18 games. The Garnet Chargers have scored at least two goals in 15 of their 18 contests this season and have had 14 different players score at least once. The team's 57 goals so far this season are the most by a Union team since 2007 and the third-most in a season in program history, behind the 2007 squad (59) and the 1978 team (58).
 
FIRST-YEAR FORCE: Maddie Greco is having one of the best rookie seasons in program history, setting a new single-season scoring mark for a first-year and tying for eighth on the school single-season list with 13 goals to go with one assist for 27 points. At the conclusion of the regular season, the three-time Liberty League weekly honoree is tied for second in Division III in goals among first-years and sixth in points, and among Liberty League competitors is tied for first overall in goals and second in points.
 
LENDING A HAND: Sophomore Megan Dorsey leads Union and ranks second in the Liberty League with eight assists this season to go with nine goals for 26 points. The sophomore ranks third in the conference in points this year and has averaged over a point per game (34 in 26 games) so far during her brief Union career.
 
ROOKIE REWARDS: The Liberty League has given out eight Rookie of the Week awards for field hockey this season, and seven have worn the garnet and white of Union. Greco is a two-time selection and could have won a third last week, but she was upgraded to Player of the Week honors instead. Classmates Molly Halliday and Marion Stuntz have both won the award on two occasions each as well, while fellow first-year Rachel Ostiguy also earned the conference honor once this season. This year's total of seven is more than the number of Rookie of the Week honors earned by Union in the last 14 seasons combined.
 
BRADY'S BUNCH: Sophomore Sophie Brady returned to her spot in goal for Union over the last four contests and has won three of her last four games, allowing 1.5 goals per game over that span. The sophomore is 5-5 with a 2.49 goals against average and .678 save percentage so far in 11 games (10 starts) this season, including making eight saves in the 1-0 loss to Vassar on October 26. Through nearly two full seasons, she has posted a 16-11 record with a 2.24 goals against average in 26 career games, already tied for seventh place in career wins at Union.
 
ABOUT THE BREWERS: Vassar finished the regular season with a 10-6 overall record and a 5-2 conference mark to finish in a three-way tie for second place, but fell to the fourth seed due to losing tiebreakers to William Smith and Rochester. The veteran Brewer roster, which features 11 seniors and only eight non-seniors, is paced by sophomore Sofia Beseth with nine goals and two assists for 20 points, and senior Jaclyn Narleski with seven goals and two helpers. Senior Heidi Compton, who was one of two Brewers named to the NFHCA Division III Preseason Watchlist, has twice been named the Liberty League Defensive Player of the Week and leads the team with six defensive saves. Senior Sarah Dumaresq has started 15 games in goal for Vassar, posting a 1.23 goals against average and .567 save percentage to go with a 9-4 record.

WHAT'S NEXT: The Union-Vassar winner will advance to the Liberty League Tournament semifinals on Friday at top-seeded Ithaca. The winner of that came will face the winner of Rochester-William Smith in the conference championship game on Sunday.
 
2023 Liberty League Tournament
 
First Round – Tuesday, October 31, 2023
#5 Union at #4 Vassar, 4 pm
 
Semifinal Round – Friday, November 3, 2023
#5 Union/#4 Vassar at #1 Ithaca, TBA
#3 Rochester at #2 William Smith, 4 pm
 
Championship Game – Sunday, November 5, 2023
Semifinal Winners at highest remaining seed