The women’s hockey team split a pair of home conference matches this weekend, obliterating Sacred Heart, 6-1, on Friday before falling to a tough Manhattanville team by a 5-2 score on Saturday.
Friday’s match was dominated by the Engineers from the get-go, outshooting the Pioneers 15-1 in the first period to take a commanding 4-0 lead and chasing Sacred Heart’s starting goaltender just 14 minutes into the contest.
Sacred Heart put up more of a struggle in the second, keeping the number of RPI shots down while getting off nine of their own. The Pioneers finally slipped the puck past Engineer Goaltender Julie Vallarelli with just six seconds remaining in the period for their only goal of the game.
RPI hammered Sacred Heart back down in the third period, adding two more goals while allowing the visitors only three shots on goal.
Forward Lauren Smith and Defenseman Lane Dielwart were the top scorers for RPI on Friday. Smith scored twice, both times assisted by Dielwart, who also scored a goal of her own. Kate Adams and Deanna Dougherty contributed a goal and an assist apiece as well.
The Engineers knew that Saturday’s match would not be nearly so easy. The Manhattanville Valiants sit atop the ECAC-East and are one of the top Division-III teams in the country. They quickly demonstrated how they got to that point, limiting RPI to less than ten shots in each period and jumping out to a 2-0 lead halfway through the first period.
There the score remained for nearly 20 minutes before Co-Captain Andrea Poley put the Engineers on the board with a power play goal. The Valiants had a ready answer, scoring less than 60 seconds later to reestablish their two-goal lead. The Valiants extended that lead early in the third, nearly putting the game out of reach, but Poley’s second goal at the 3:52 mark kept the home team in the game.
After a Manhattanville timeout, the Valiants’ defense stiffened once again, keeping RPI out of the net while picking up a goal of their own to complete the 5-2 win.
Head Coach Bill Cahill was pleased with the Engineers’ performance, noting that they played well in all three zones of the rink and got scoring from several different players and all of their lines.
RPI also took only five penalties in their two games, and did not give up a power play goal.
Cahill added that attendance at the women’s hockey games seemed to be increasing, and that the team was appreciative of the increased fan support.
The Engineers, at 6-3-0 in the conference, are now tied for third in the ECAC-East with Sacred Heart, just one point ahead of RIT. Manhattanville remains undefeated with an 8-0-1 conference record; the Valiants have allowed only six goals in those nine games.
