The RPI women’s soccer team entered the week with a record of 3-2-1, but despite being just one game over .500, the women have really been coming together as of late on the field. The Red Hawks had just come off of a win over Stevens Institute of Technology, and a close loss to North Park College in which their defense looked very sound, but they just could not get anything going offensively, resulting in a 1-0 loss.
This week’s task was St. Lawrence University and Clarkson University on back-to-back days, Friday and Saturday, respectively, in the opening of Liberty League Play.
On Friday, Rensselaer was able to grab the early lead, scoring on a goal from sophomore Amanda Nicklin at the 37:24 mark. Saints freshman goalie Hayleigh Hochberg did her best to clear a ball, but it instead found Nicklin, who blasted it into the back of the net, giving RPI the 1-0 lead.
St. Lawrence, however, bounced right back and got into the mix. Off of a corner kick, freshman Katie Oram was able to head the ball in past freshman goalie Meghan White to tie the game at one at the 40:54 mark. Less than four minutes later, sophomore Lauren Annaldo gave the Saints their first lead, putting home a cross she received from freshman Kaitlyn Fahsel. Headed into halftime, the score would remain 2-1 in favor of the visitors.
In the second half, the action picked up right where it left off. St. Lawrence added to its lead at the 67:53 mark. This time it was Fahsel who did the honors, scoring again on a corner kick opportunity, the assist coming from sophomore Stanzi McGlynn.
RPI cut the lead to one when senior Sarah Briggs found the back of the net, receiving a cross from junior Sarah Hinz with 20 minutes remaining on the game clock. The comeback would be too much for the Red Hawks, though, ultimately taking the loss by a final score of 3-2. White made nine stops in goal for Rensselaer, while Hochberg made two for St. Lawrence. RPI was outshot 19-8 on the day and was behind in corner kicks 9-1, yet still kept the contest close throughout.
Facing Clarkson on Sunday, Nicklin again gave the Red Hawks the early advantage. Sophomore Heather Lautman crossed the ball to Nicklin, who put it past Golden Knights senior goalie Megan Emlaw into the top right corner of the net at the 22:53 mark.
That would be all the action in the first half in terms of scoring, the tally remaining 1-0 in favor of RPI headed into halftime. The Red Hawks outshot Clarkson 5-1 in the opening frame and held a 5-1 lead in corner kicks.
Rensselaer scored one more late in the second half to seal the victory. Freshman Tracy Breslin scored her first goal as a Red Hawk when she gathered a cross from Nicklin, and headed the ball in for the score.
At the end of regulation, RPI came away with a 2-0 victory. White stopped four shots for Rensselaer, while her counterpart Emlaw did the same. The Red Hawks took four more shots, 11 compared to Clarkson’s seven, and had one more corner kick opportunity, 5-4.
After the weekend, RPI’s record now stands at 4-3-1. The women will take a short break from Liberty League play this week when they take on Alfred College on the road, Saturday afternoon at 4:30 pm. From there, the Red Hawks will return home to Harkness Field to take on William Smith College and Hamilton College on October 5 and 6.
