Entering the week with an 0-2 record in Liberty League play, the field hockey team’s back was to the wall. Head Coach Bridget LaNoir called the Wednesday, September 28 game against the Vassar College Brewers a must-win. There was a rift in the league, which resulted in each team having either a perfect or winless record.
The Red Hawks needed a win against Vassar to take a little bit of pressure off. Unfortunately, they came up short, dropping a 1-0 decision. Last week, LaNoir said it would take “strong defense, strong communication, a lack of hesitation, confidence with the ball, and a lot of intensity” to beat the Brewers.
The team played with intensity, but the Red Hawks just couldn’t find the net. They out-gained the Brewers in penalty corners 17-0, and out-shot the Brewers, 20-5. Most of the game was played in the Vassar end, and RPI had bursts of sustained pressure throughout.
Vassar’s Catherine Twardy scored in the second half on a scramble in front of the net and Ellie Pomerantz made nine saves. RPI sought the equalizer late, but failed to capitalize on a number of late chances, including five penalty corners in a four-minute span.
RPI looked for a mental rebound in a non-league match against the Drew University Rangers on Saturday, and found the going a little easier—at first. The Red Hawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half on goals by freshmen Sara Stylinski and Kristina Baker.
The Rangers halved the lead two minutes after the second goal, when Jen Schoepflin scored on her own rebound. The Red Hawks took a lead into the second half, but Whitney Kerns knotted the game at two mid-way through.
The game proceeded to overtime, where Schoepflin won the game for Drew less than two minutes into the frame.
With the losses, RPI falls to 3-5 overall, and 0-3 in the Liberty League. With only four league games remaining, the Red Hawks need to run the table to qualify for the playoffs. The team can start this weekend, with games against St. Lawrence at 3 pm on Friday and Hamilton at 1 pm on Saturday.
