Coming off a midweek 0-2 loss against the Panthers of Middlebury College, the Engineers rebounded on Saturday in their Family Weekend home game against the Vassar College Brewers, taking the game 1-0. A goal made by junior Nicole Clancy’s with nine minutes left of play went uncontested, propelling Rensselaer to 8-7 overall and 2-4 in league games for the 2016 season, of which three days remain.
The first half of last Wednesday’s game remained deadlocked when neither the Engineers nor the Panthers took an offensive or defensive advantage. Rensselaer had several opportunities to score, most notably when junior Megan Jones aimed for the side of the net, forcing Middlebury goalie Emily Miller to snap left, but each attempt failed.
Two goals within the span of four minutes broke the scoreless draw that had ensued during the first half. A goal by Middlebury’s Julia Richards one minute after the close of halftime swung the game in favor of the opponent. Annie Leonard then secured the Panthers’ advantage when she scored at 40:48 of regulation.
The game was played very defensively against Middlebury, whose record for the season is 10-3. Sophomore goalie Rachel Kaufman made five saves to Miller’s two.
Saturday, RPI competed against Vassar College. Although both teams held their own for the majority of play that afternoon despite cold and wet conditions, but Rensselaer emerged victorious.
Sophomore goalie Kayla Bell performed a total of five saves during play. Seven shots on goal were made by each team.
The final home game of the season will take place this afternoon at 5 pm on Renwyck Field at East Campus Athletic Village. The State University of New York at New Paltz will be the final league challenger. This Saturday, Rensselaer will be away at the State University of New York at Oneonta for their final regular season match.