Despite virtually unplayable field conditions Friday in Potsdam, N.Y., RPI dominated the Golden Knights for the first 79 minutes of the game. Clarkson, though, controlled the remaining 11. Two late goals, one off the head of Clarkson’s Justin Crowley and another off the leg of a RPI defender, propelled the Golden Knights to a stunning 2-1 upset.

“We were shocked, gutted,” Rensselaer Head Coach Adam Clinton after the team’s loss to Clarkson. “We never felt like we were going to lose, and when it got down to 11 minutes I thought we would hang on.”

Rensselaer did everything mentally and physically to win in the game. The Red Hawks jumped out early as senior forward Craig DiDomenico scored the game’s first goal less than two minutes into the contest on a beautiful fake that split two Clarkson defenders. RPI kept the pressure on the Golden Knights, battling through standing water, ankle deep mud, and a merciless cold rain, but could never garner the elusive second goal.

“They had no answer for Craig,” a noticeably frustrated Clinton said. “Every time he would make a move the ball would stop for in a puddle or skip away on the water. The weather completely, 100 percent, affected the game, but the bottom line is we should have won anyway.”

Clinton was so upset with the field conditions that he did not want to play the game as standing water had already consumed the field prior to kick-off. Potsdam did have an alternative site, the local field turf stadium, but the Clarkson coach and the referee deemed the field playable.

“We should have never played on that surface,” Clinton said. “But often we are at the mercy of the ref.”

Clinton, who had never seen such poor conditions in his four years as RPI’s head coach, is currently looking into his options to see if he could have protested the game.

The Red Hawks took 11 shots compared to just four for the Golden Knights, but the slop on the field limited RPI’s ability to utilize its athleticism. The Red Hawks actually avoided certain areas of the field entirely, forcing them to attack the Clarkson net from only a few angles, and Golden Knight netminder David Hennessey managed to find himself in the right place at the right time.

“We hit it right to him when he did see it,” Clinton said. “When he didn’t see it he managed to turn right into it.”

Lady luck was obviously wearing green and gold and sealed RPI’s fate late in the contest. The Rensselaer defense failed only twice on the night, but the miscues again punished the Red Hawks.

Crowley, who was named co-offensive performer by the Liberty League, laid out and got his head on the ball to beat Nick Bochette off a perfect crossing pass from Bryan Oakland. With the game tied Miss Luck delivered the final blow as another Clarkson centering feed found an RPI defender at just the right angle to deflect into the net.

“We just can’t seem to survive our mistakes,” Clinton said. “We just can’t seem to catch a break.”

Saturday’s game against a weakened but still talented St. Lawrence club would not offer any relief to the ailing Red Hawks. RPI showed tremendous resilience recovering from Friday’s painful loss, but its lack of offense and a lone defensive mistake proved fatal as Rensselaer fell 1-0 in overtime to the Saints.

“We are not scoring any goals and that is haunting us,” Clinton said. Rensselaer has managed just five goals in its last six games and has been shut out twice over the span.

According to Clinton, the Red Hawks played extremely well and split ball possession with the Saints 60-40 throughout the game. St. Lawrence out-shot Rensselaer 15-8, but the majority of that margin was built in the first half.

RPI made several spirited runs at the Saints defense but never converted. The Red Hawks’ best chance came early in overtime, when freshman forward Mike Henzel found himself behind the defense after running down a DiDomenico pass. Henzel’s shot to the near post was corralled by Saints’ keeper Emilio Coletta.

Coletta had four saves on the day while Bochette stopped eight, but needed to save nine, for the Red Hawks.

With just 31 seconds left in the first overtime, the RPI defense finally buckled and St. Lawrence backer Steve Watson quickly broke them. Watson, who was named defensive performer of the week by the conference, dribbled the ball from 40 yards out uncontested and launched a shot that managed to just beat the sprawling Bochette, sending the Red Hawks home frustrated and dejected.

Amazingly, Rensselaer is still alive in the hunt for the final two Liberty League playoff spots. RPI can still pass fourth place Hamilton, but must win out when it faces the Continentals in Hamilton, N.Y., on October 21 and Hobart in Geneva, N.Y., on October 22.

Rensselaer can also get in the playoffs if Skidmore or Clarkson, who both still have three games left, manage to lose out. Hamilton, Skidmore, and Clarkson are all tied for the third through fifth positions with seven points while RPI finds itself in sixth with four league points.

“The unbelievable thing is after this weekend we are still alive,” Clinton said. “The league has been so out of whack this year that three wins could get someone into the playoffs.”