The Rensselaer Red Hawks women’s soccer team opened their 2003 UCCA campaign this past weekend, losing a heartbreaker to the William Smith Herons 2-1 Friday but rebounding Saturday for a 1-0 victory over the Hamilton Continentals.
In the game against William Smith, the Herons got off to a fast start, driving the play of the game deep into Red Hawk territory right off the kick-off.
RPI started to build some pressure ten minutes in and nearly got on the board but William Smith goaltender Nikki Dudley made an amazing diving save to keep the game scoreless.
The Red Hawks finally broke through in the 24th minute when, on their only corner of the first half, Laura Feeney headed a ball that was deflected to freshman Katherine Frank, who put the ball into the back of the net to put RPI up 1-0.
William Smith came back and 13 minutes later they scored a corner of their own. Pria Young put the ball into the 18-yard box from the corner spot and Alexandra Rieben headed the ball past junior keeper Regina Primm.
The goal seemed to deflate the Red Hawks a little as the Herons kept the pressure in the RPI end of the field for the rest of the half, but the defense held strong and the half ended tied at one.
The second half started with William Smith again pushing the ball deep into RPI territory. RPI came right back however and put some pressure on William Smith, forcing the Heron defense to make several key clearings.
“Adele Godfrey-Certner was a huge contributor to our play in the second half,” commented Red Hawks’ Coach Leslie Khachadourian. “She was key in winning 50/50 balls in the midfield while directing play and building our offense.”
The half continued to go back and forth between ends. William Smith got a break when, with 29 seconds left in the game, Heron forward Kristen Perrigo picked up a loose ball, made a great move past an RPI defender and shot the ball past Primm for the winning goal.
Primm finished with seven saves in the loss while Dudley finished with one. The Red Hawks were out shot by the Herons 16-10.
On Saturday the Red Hawks again started the game on the slow side with the Continentals pushing the ball deep into the RPI zone, forcing Primm to come up with some key saves.
RPI came back and started to turn the pressure onto the Hamilton defense. Sixteen minutes into the half, the Red Hawks made the pressure pay off as junior Katie Fredlund fed a perfect pass to fellow junior Liz Vitaliano who put the ball past Continental goalkeeper Jen Munoz.
Hamilton tried to get back into the game after the goal but the RPI defense held strong and the first half ended with Red Hawks clinging to the 1-0 lead.
In the second half, RPI came out and put the pressure on Hamilton right from the start of the half, putting 14 shots at Munoz in the half. The Continental defense did a good job keeping the Red Hawks from getting an insurance goal by blocking several shots and causing several other ones to be rushed and off target.
When Hamilton was able to get some pressure in the RPI zone, the Red Hawk defense and sophomore goalie Tara Marandino did their part and kept the Continentals from getting the tying goal.
Shots in the game were even for both teams, with each team getting off 21. Primm had seven saves and Marandino had five for RPI, while Munoz had eight saves for Hamilton.
RPI’s record now stands at 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the UCAA.
The Red Hawks play again today at SUNY New Paltz and Friday against Vassar up on Harkness Field. Game time today is 4 pm and Friday’s kickoff is 7 pm.
