Four years ago, Vassar women’s soccer Head Coach Keith Simons’ first recruiting class watched a practice from the sidelines of Gordon Field on their commitment weekend. The high school seniors stared down a four-year college soccer career. Just days ago, on Tuesday, Nov. 11, the team won the first Liberty League Championship in program history, beating the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers, after finishing at the top of the league in regular-season play, led by the same Class of 2026 that eagerly stood on the sidelines of Gordon Field so long ago. This full-circle moment, however, feels less like a finale and more like a reflection of hard work and a strong future to come for the Lady Brewers.
As Simons puts it, “There has been a lot of foundational groundwork set before any of us have been here, but to feel like we were the ones that got to push through at the end and accomplish what we’ve been talking about for a while is really special.” The success of this team is a culmination of years of work from players and coaches committed to building the culture of toughness and tactical soccer that we see today. The end of the season is full of reflecting on statistics and awards, explicit reflections of the team’s success. However, this team is not just a culmination of the 14 weeks of training and tough matches; it starts in the offseason, the spring before, and continues through the summer with conditioning, technical work and a return to campus weeks before other students to train for hours in the summer heat.
The work is also not only physical, but cultural. Simons explains, “So they’ve done a phenomenal job because 90 percent of their leadership is when we’re not around. Locker rooms, dorms, training, field, and that’s when you establish all those things. And then, you see kind of the big moments, but that’s a very small percentage of the actual leadership opportunities. So I can’t speak highly enough about our group.” The team has created strong relationships off the field, leading to the results on the field. This reflects a broader culture amongst Vassar student-athletes who fully devote their energy to academics and athletics, resulting in a three-game championship day on Nov. 11, with Vassar women’s soccer and field hockey winning the Liberty League Championship on side-by-side fields, just half an hour apart.
With their Liberty League championship win, the team earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Championship tournament, where they drew the University of Mary Washington in a tough first-round matchup. On a chilly day on Cole Field in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Simons’ squad kicked off a tense battle against the UMW squad from Virginia. The game was knotted 0-0 until about an hour in, when Mary Washington midfielder Cassidy Shaw soared the ball into Vassar’s goal from outside the 16-yard box. As the second half wore on, Vassar amped the effort up with a collection of strong attacking opportunities, maintaining constant pressure for the final quarter of the game. Mary Washington bent but did not break, hanging on to their one-goal lead to earn a berth to the next round. Commenting after the game, Coach Simons remarked, “Incredible season and experience for our players. Couldn’t be more proud of them. Really excited for the program and we can’t let one day ruin the whole thing.” Walking off the field in Williamstown, the senior class, first-years and everyone in between laughed, cried and hugged the friends, family and supporters journeying from as near as Vassar’s campus just two hours away and as far as Hawaii, over 5,000 miles away. Despite the result, there was an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. Simons’ squad had earned their second consecutive bid to the National Tournament after finishing seventh out of 10 in the Liberty League just two years ago.
The season-long commitment to their success, culminating in a Liberty League Championship, was a full team effort, and the awards across the deep squad are there to prove it. The team garnered Coaching Staff of the Year, eight players named to All-Liberty League teams and a Rookie of the Year distinction for first-year Ava Holman, who notched the game winner in the Liberty League final. The team finished 8-1 in conference play with a 14-3 record in regular season play, a testament to the team’s consistent grit throughout the two-and-a-half-month-long season. The Brewers scored an average of 2.50 goals per game, with 14 players scoring at least one goal and eight players scoring more than one. The offensive effort is equally matched by the team’s work on defense, with senior defender Lindsey Nihei ’26 winning the Liberty League Tournament’s “Outstanding Player” recognition and goal-keeper Laura Shea ’28 ending the season with an 80 percent shots saved percentage on 11 total shutouts.
Senior captain Becca Rodriguez reflects on the season and winning the league championship, “It felt surreal. I didn’t feel that we won until the day after. I felt relief and fulfillment because it was from all the work we put in leading up to it.” The humble response of this team to their record-breaking success shows their “heads-down” mentality to focus on each game and step towards their goals. This team was patient in their success, slowly building from not making the Liberty League tournament in 2023 to winning the championship two years later. They do not expect success; rather, they take every possible step to ensure they get there. From conversations with players and coaches, one thing is evident: They are just getting started. Something special is definitely happening here.