The Red Hawks have extended their unbeaten streak with a close win over Union College. The 10-9 victory propelled RPI to an 8-0 record, which is the best start in over 40 years. As the visiting Red Hawks improved to 2-0 in the Liberty League, the Dutchmen fell to 0-1, and 2-4 overall. “I think we learned a lesson about looking past teams from the Union game,” said freshman Paul Cerone. “We do have some huge games coming up but if we don’t focus on every game then we could find ourselves in games that are closer than we feel that they should be.”
“It has been great to start off the season this way, especially after somewhat of a disappointing season last year,” said junior Alex MacDiarmid.
A fast start put RPI up 5-1, but Union wasn’t intimidated and answered with four goals of its own in the second quarter to bring the score to 6-5 at the half. Although the Red Hawks pulled ahead 8-5 at one point, they couldn’t keep the lead and let the game slip to 8-6 by the end of the third quarter. A pair of unassisted goals by junior Mike Sampson gave the visitors a three-point lead with 10:13 to go. But the Dutchmen would not let it go quietly as they scored at 3:47 and then added a final tally as the horn blew.
“If you look at the stats,” said Cerone, “We are handling teams in the first quarter of our games but as the game progresses we haven’t had the same success. We need to play a full sixty minutes if we want to have the success that we know that we are capable of.”
The scoring was led by Sampson, who notched four by himself and added an assist. RPI had six different players score, three of whom also contributed assists.
Junior John Thibdeau was steady in the net, making 10 saves; four of them in the crucial fourth quarter.
“Our last win over Union was big, leading us into the bulk of our league schedule. And Union is a big rival, so it’s always a good game and it’s great to come out with the win.”
Cerone was named Rookie of the Week by the Liberty League after he not only had a goal and an assist, but also won seven of nine faceoffs for RPI. The midfielder was first to light the lamps as he scored unassisted 3:33 into the game. This is the second time this season that the freshman has been honored by the Liberty League. His nine goals and five assists place him sixth on the team and he also leads the team in ground balls with 33.
The coaching staff, led by Head Coach Jim Townsend, is widely credited by the team for the success they have been experiencing. “I think that so much of what we have done this season can be credited to our coaching staff,” said Cerone. “Everyone trusts in Coach Townsend, which allows us to concentrate about doing our jobs, as players, on the field. It is also a great experience to have two assistant coaches who help us all become better every day. I couldn’t say enough about the coaches and how much of our success thus far is because of them.”
“Our coaches have been stressing how we need to improve each week,” said MacDiarmid. “Even with some tough games ahead of us, if we can continue to improve there’s a good chance we could stay undefeated.”
“We want to accomplish something that we can all be proud of and we are all ready to do whatever we can to reach our goals,” said Cerone.
“We’ve got probably our hardest week of the season ahead of us with Potsdam, Middlebury, and St. Lawrence. They’re tough teams, but we’re ready for the challenge, and to prove that we’re contenders,” MacDiarmid said. The Red Hawks head to SUNY Potsdam for a noon game next Saturday, and then to Middlebury for a 4:30 game next Tuesday.
