Outside the Box Score: Vassar Women's Soccer Nearly Holds off No. 5 William Smith

September 25

By Tyler Maland, a junior student-worker in the Sports Information Office

Executing a game plan can be elusive. The instinctual nature of competition can trump tactical strategy at any time. An injury, or a well-prepared opponent, or even a freak play, can disrupt the intended course of a game plan.

At the women’s soccer game on Friday, I felt at times like I was watching Dean Smith’s Carolina Tarheels close out a second half with the time-devouring four corners offense.

The Brewers’ first Liberty League test was powerhouse William Smith, the same team that knocked Vassar out of the playoffs last year. The apparent game plan was logical. Play tightly, and limit the Herons’ offensive chances. Start league play with a shutout and, at the very least, a tie. For the majority of the game, Vassar’s execution was exceptional.

Against the nationally fifth-ranked Herons, Vassar built a seemingly impenetrable wall in the first half. Utilizing just one free-ranging forward, the Brewers packed the defense and allowed William Smith to control the possession of the game, aiming instead to limit shots and runs. They did just that: William Smith did dominate the ball in the first half, but managed just two shots on goal.

Vassar hardly looked threatening, its forwards smothered by three towering defenders each time they got a touch on the ball in William Smith’s half of the field. The Brewers rarely strung passes together, instead clearing the ball out as if asking the Herons to “take it back” before trying again at the goal. But then again, how crisp did Michael Jordan look when he stood stagnantly in the corner as Smith’s unbeatable (and unexciting) offense closed out game after game? With a scoreless first half, Vassar’s execution was perfect.

The second half saw things open up a bit. William Smith managed eight shots, and Vassar four. Vassar started to push offensively, and the time of possession evened out. But overall, the pace remained the same. The Brewers’ defenders, backed by freshman keeper Ali Higgins, cleared ball after ball, and a Herons’ offense that had outscored opponents 10-4 in its first six games remained stupefied.

But in the 83rd minute, William Smith forward BreLynn Nasypany found space on the back side of the Vassar goal and headed a cross easily into an unattended net. There was the disrupted game-plan. There was the 1-0 deficit, and eventual loss, that would tell nothing of Vassar's near-perfect execution in the box score. There was an 0-1 start in a conference where every game matters.

There are no moral victories or almosts in the standings sheets. But really – eight minutes and overtime away from out-executing the fifth-best team in the country? Almost.