With a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Oneonta State Red Dragons on Thursday, the undefeated start to the Rensselaer field hockey team’s season ended. The Dragons’ Rachael Decker scored two goals, and Kate Yarmowich added the game winner late in the second half. The Red Hawks got a goal and an assist from sophomore Sarah Merlin, and senior goalie Amanda Lund and junior goaltender Jen O’Neil combined to make nine saves.
Despite the loss, Head Coach Bridget Lanoir was optimistic. “I thought we had played the best game that we’ve played so far,” she said. “It was a very close game back and forth, and the transition play was crucial.”
After a brief burst of momentum for RPI midway through first half, Oneonta took possession of the ball in its offensive end. Lund made an acrobatic save on a shot by Musu Jackson-Buckner. Shortly after, Oneonta was awarded a corner. Decker cradled the pass at the top of the arc and fired a shot that beat Lund, putting the Dragons up 1-0.
RPI rebounded quickly. A series of quick passes gave Merlin the ball near the arc. She crossed over the arc and blasted a shot that knotted the score.
Lanoir was generally pleased with the way offensive opportunities like Merlin’s developed for the Red Hawks. “We worked on passing plays a lot. I think it really showed,” she said. “We were able to move from one end to the other end in the cleanest way that we’ve done so far.”
Oneonta struck again with only 57 seconds left in the first half. Lund was caught out away from the net during a scramble in front, the ball found its way to Decker’s stick, and she hammered it home.
RPI’s quick transition play helped tie things up in the second half. Merlin broke free with the ball in an odd-man situation. The defense shifted to stop her, but she found senior Sarah Salinger, who easily deposited the ball in the goal.
Late in the second, Oneonta seized control of the game. A Jackson-Buckner shot hit the post, and Yarmowich scored on the rebound.
The loss exposed a few weaknesses in RPI’s play, which Lanoir has been stressing in practice during this week. “[Oneonta’s] strength of moving the ball quickly, in transition, certainly pointed out some weaknesses that we had on picking up on the transition. We’ve been focusing on man-to-man defense in our end,” she said.
“There’s certainly more we need to work on, especially when we don’t have the ball. Our defensive play in that area is going to be key…We’ll try to see the open spaces and anticipate passes more, and hopefully be able to intercept more balls instead of waiting for them.”
The Red Hawks take to the road to open Liberty League play against William Smith on Friday and the University of Rochester on Saturday. Lanoir has been keeping a few things in mind in preparation for this weekend’s games. “William Smith is always a clean team. They’re very aggressive and they have a few really strong scorers,” she said, adding, “Rochester is always very quick and, as Oneonta did, they are pretty good with their transition play. Their speed is something we need to focus on.”
