Despite goals by junior Katie Lavelle and senior Anne Drames, the Rensselar Red Hawks women’s soccer team fell 3-2 to the New York University Violets on a goal in the final seven seconds of the game.
The first half started with both teams struggling to find a rhythm. Each team made runs deep into the other team’s end but neither team got a good scoring chance. Thirteen minutes into the game, the Red Hawks struck first. RPI got the ball deep into the Violet end, and after a scramble in front of the net, the ball found its way onto the foot of senior Jess Chetuck 20 yards from the goal.
Chetuck took a hard driving shot to the right side that NYU goaltender Kaitlin Barnes dove and knocked the ball out of the way. The ball bounced right to the foot of Lavelle who knocked the ball into the back of the net to put RPI up 1-0.
The Red Hawks kept the pressure up after the goal, putting several shots in on Barnes. However, the Violet keeper was up to the task making some magnificent saves.
With about ten and a half minutes left in the first half, NYU got their first serious chance when the RPI defense played the ball back to senior goalie Regina Primm. Primm misplayed the ball but recovered just in time to beat a charging Michelle Gore to the ball and cleared it out.
Rensselaer didn’t let the near mishap affect them as they continued to pressure the Violets, but couldn’t convert anything into a goal, and the half ended with the Red Hawks holding onto the one goal lead.
The first ten minutes of the second half started the same way the first half ended, with RPI controlling the play. However, the control started to shift NYU’s way, when after a Rensselaer foul about 25 yards out, Samantha Ben-Simon put the ensuing free kick into the top right corner of the goal just under the crossbar and out of the reach of Primm to tie the score at one.
The Red Hawks didn’t let the goal bring them down as they picked the pressure back up and seven minutes later, after a Violet foul, senior Liz Vitaliano chipped the free kick into the box that Drames headed into the left netting to again give RPI a one goal lead.
NYU responded five minutes later. After another RPI foul near the end line, Gore passed the ball to the top of the 18-yard box to Mallory Tomaro, who took a shot along the ground that found its way through a crowd of players to the left corner and under a diving Primm to tie the score at two.
The goal seemed to inspire the Violets even more as they continued to put the pressure on Primm and the Red Hawk defense, putting more than half of their 15 second half shots on Primm after the goal.
The pressure finally paid off when, after a scramble for the ball at the top of the 18-yard box, the RPI defense tried to clear the ball with about 10 seconds left. The clearing attempt fell to the foot of Ben-Simon who took an arching shot on goal from about 25 yards out that was just out of the reach of Primm to steal the win.
Barnes finished with six saves for the Violets, and Primm recorded seven for the Red Hawks.
NYU improved to 3-3 while RPI remained winless on the year at 0-3-1.
The Red Hawks will look to record their first win of the season this weekend when they travel to the North Country to start Liberty League play against the St. Lawrence Saints on Friday and the Clarkson Golden Knights on Saturday. This is the start of a four week, six game road trip for RPI, who won’t return home until October 22.
