ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – The last time there was a playoff atmosphere for a women's soccer game at Bard's Lorenzo Ferrari Soccer Complex was in 2010.

It was Bard's last year in the Skyline Conference. During Bard's four years in the Skyline, they made the conference playoffs every year and the ECAC Tournament three times.

The following fall, Bard left the Skyline for the Liberty League, and the long trek uphill began. A prestigious, tough league with nationally-ranked teams was a major step up, and it's been a painful, arduous climb back to respectability.

Thursday night made it all seem worth it.

With a Liberty League playoff spot on the line for Vassar, and an ECAC Tournament berth on the line for Bard, the Raptors defeated Vassar for the first time in school history, 2-1.

"These women expected to win tonight," Bard coach Bill Kelly said. "We've been growing and evolving since Day 1, and we've been playing better and better lately. They rose to the challenge."

Ferrari Field was electric and the first half hour of the game was tense. Scoring opportunities and open space were hard to find. It all changed just before halftime.

Given a direct kick over near the sideline about 30 yards from goal, freshman Dylan McDonald readied to strike a cross into the box from distance. But some players on the field and Kelly himself wanted her to shoot it.

"Sometimes when Dylan is at distance she thinks more about serving it than shooting it, so I told her to take it, but players on the field were already telling her anyway," Kelly said.

She rocketed a shot that arced just high enough to get over Vassar keeper Emma Nichols (Lexington, MA) and inside the far post. It sent the fans into a frenzy.

The second half saw Bard cautiously going forward, trying to keep Vassar from getting the equalizer, but Avalon Qian made it 2-0 in the 60th minute with a brilliant individual effort. And she struggled for a ball bouncing around outside the top of the box, she finally settled it, took a touch to the right to avoid having her shot blocked, and beat Nichols high to the far post from 20 yards out.

That goal changed Vassar's approach immediately. Needing a win against Bard Thursday and another against Union on Saturday to make the conference playoffs, they threw everything forward and created tremendous pressure. The Raptors were on their heels.

Just four minutes after Qian's goal, Rebecca Andrews (Los Altos, CA) hit the crossbar with a blast, and in the 74th minute, Andrews found Lucy Brainerd (Littleton, CO) streaking down the middle, and she scored to cut the lead in half, 2-1.

That cranked up the pressure even more. Ryan O'Connell made consecutive saves in the 75th and 76th minutes, and it seemed suddenly that Vassar's forwards were finding a lot of room out there, but the Brewers (8-6-2, 2-3-2 LL) never found the equalizer.

Bard (8-8-1, 2-6-0 LL) entered the season with zero conference wins since joining the league, and ended it with two. They've won three games in a row.

"Once we got that first Liberty League win (at Clarkson Oct. 2), that was terra firma for us," Kelly said. "Then we said to ourselves, let's go out and get more Liberty League wins and make the playoffs.

"The theme this year has been 'All in'," Kelly continued. "Everyone has challenged themselves and bought in."

The Raptors will find out who they will play and where on Nov. 9; the game or games will be played Nov. 11 and Nov. 13-14.