Liberty League postseason action officially begins next Friday, but for the Clarkson University Lacrosse team Saturday’s game at Vassar College possessed all the atmosphere of a playoff game. Battling for the final berth in the upcoming four-team conference tournament, the Golden Knights needed to win in Poughkeepsie in the final game of the regular season to keep their 2012 campaign alive, and the Green and Gold responded in a big way by dominating the Brewers 13-5 at Gordon Field.

Freshman attack Corey Herrington (Camillus, NY) scored a game-high four goals and six points and junior Ryan Cole (Orchard Park, NY) posted six saves to lead Clarkson against Vassar and into the playoffs for the third time over the past four years.

The Knights, who stand at 9-5 overall, completed the regular season with a 3-3 Liberty League record to earn the fourth seed in the conference tournament. Clarkson tied with Rensselaer for fourth in the league standings, but won the tie breaker by defeating the Engineers 10-4 on March 31 at Hantz Turf Field. The Knights will now face off against top-seeded RIT (12-2, 5-1 LL) in Rochester in the Liberty League Tournament semifinal round on Friday, May 4. In the other semifinal game, St. Lawrence (12-2, 4-2), the third seed, will play at second-seeded Union (10-3, 5-1) in Schenectady on Friday. The winners of the semifinal round will meet in the Liberty League Tournament Championship game on Sunday, May 6 at the home site of the highest remaining seed.

Clarkson lost at RIT on 7-5 on March 24. The Knights are 14-20 all-time in the series against the Tigers.

Against Vassar (3-10, 0-6), Clarkson jumped out to a 4-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and took a 6-1 lead into the half. Vassar rallied back from a 10-2 deficit entering the fourth quarter with three goals in the final frame.

Along with Herrington’s five-point outing, junior Kyle Kasprzyk (Orchard Park, NY) was strong offensively with three goals and one assist. Senior Bryan Huff (Hillsborough, NJ) chipped in two goals, while freshman Matthew Gold (Pittsford, NY) added one goal and a game-high three assists. Senior Eric Gollands (Chelmsford, MA) and juniors Brendon Shearin (Goffstown, NH) and Jeff Sciera (DeWitt, NY) rounded out the Clarkson goal scorers with one each.

The Knights dominated shots, 41-23, ground balls, 37-24, and face-offs, 12-8.

Senior defenseman Matt Davidson (Hilton, NY) and sophomore midfielder Jack Keenan (Brasher Falls, NY) both scooped up team-high five ground balls. Keenan won 11-of-18 face-offs.