The opening half of play was full of intense action, as both teams battled to try and gain an edge on each other. The Red Hawks seemingly had things going their way as they outshot New Paltz 5-2 in the first half, and held a 6-1 advantage in fouls. However, the score remained 0-0, and the deadlock lasted all the way to halftime.

Sophomore Jacquelyn Garlasco got the RPI offense started when she scored at the 55:17 mark in the second half. Garlasco, who started the play with a corner kick, lobbed the ball through a gathering of defenders and watched it sail over the goalie’s head into the back of the net for the score.

At the 87:35 mark, freshman Danielle Redmond increased Rensselaer’s lead to two after scoring on a pass from senior Sarah Briggs, putting a shot past the Hawks’ goalie, scoring on the left side of the net.

The game came to a close with the final score remaining 2-0, the Red Hawks on top for the first win of their season. RPI blistered New Paltz, outshooting the Hawks 10-0 in the second, showing an aggressive offensive attack.

For the day, the Red Hawks held a 15-2 shot advantage, and a 9-2 corner kick advantage. Freshman Meghan White posted one save in goal for Rensselaer, while her counterpart, freshman Nora Westcott, made eight stops for New Paltz.

With the victory, the RPI women were back in action on Sunday, this time against Husson College as they continued play in day two of the Red Hawks/Dutchwomen Classic. Defense would be the word to characterize this contest, as both teams battled to a 0-0 tie through two halves of play.

Manning the net for the Red Hawks was a trio of goalies, who all performed brilliantly. Sophomore Caitlin Burns started the game, playing for 45 minutes, but did not have the opportunity to record a save, a testament to RPI’s excellent defense.

Classmate Emily Perkins took over and stopped one shot in the second half. Then White, who started Rensselaer’s first game of the year, was back in goal for overtime, as she too posted one save. In goal for Husson was junior Tatyana Wolterbeek, who posted nine saves over the course of the game.

The Red Hawks agressive offense again showed its skill as the women outshot Husson 19-6 on the day. RPI clearly had some opportunities to score, but capitalizing on them was a different story, which is something that plagued the women last season. Rensselaer also held a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks, and committed two less fouls than its opponent.

All things considered, the first week of the season for RPI was pretty solid. The team came away 1-0-1, and showed a lot of positives on the field. A strong team defense was there throughout, limiting its opponents to eight shots on goal in two games. The offense looked poised and ready as it certainly had opportunities to score. Now the Red Hawks need to capitalize on chances and find some more ways to put the ball in the net, something that will assuredly come with more game experience and time together as a group on the field.