The Brewers grabbed the early lead when freshman Meredith Blackwelder headed in a shot after she received a pass from classmate Allison McManis on a corner kick at the 11:25 mark. The 1-0 lead would hold up to halftime. The Red Hawks were outshot 15-7 in the first, and had three fewer corner kicks, four compared to one.

When all things looked bleak, Rensselaer rallied at the 80:25 mark as the game clock continued to wind down. Sophomore Jacquelyn Garalasco sent a corner kick into the box, where classmate Amanda Brophy knew what to do with the ball, tapping it in for the score. The late rally tied the game at one, and sent the contest into overtime.

In overtime, Vassar went back to the success that brought its first goal. At the 102:20 mark, McManis again sent a corner kick into a crowd where junior Emma Kemp out-jumped everyone and headed the ball in to give the Brewers the 2-1 victory.

For the game, Vassar outshot RPI 27-16, and held an all-important 6-2 advantage in corner kicks; every score in the game came off a corner kick. Freshman goalie Meghan White played strong in goal for Rensselaer, making 11 saves. Anne Hutchinson made 11 as well for the Brewers.

The Red Hawks, whose record now stands at 6-7-1, return to action this weekend on the road. Saturday the women will take on Skidmore College at 3 pm, and Sunday they will battle with Union College at 2 pm. Just four games remain on the schedule.

Cross Country

Both the RPI men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled to Williamstown, Mass., to compete in the Plansky Invitational on Saturday.

The Invitational consisted of three different races; the 6K, 5K, and 4K. RPI’s 5K team placed third overall. Junior Cathy Malloy finished fourth in the women’s 5K with a time of 19:27. Katherine Markowitz, a sophomore, also performed well in the event, finishing sixth with a time of 19:43.

Senior Geoff Williams and sophomore Eric Wyler both had strong times in the 6K race for the men. Each ran a time of 20:23, finishing 30th and 31st, respectively.

Freshman Christine Koch was the top RPI performer in the 4K, running a time of 16:14 and finishing 18th overall. Junior Kristina Kosina was not far behind, finishing 25th after running a 16:39.

Field Hockey

The RPI field hockey team came into the week searching for a win after dropping its previous two games to Hamilton College and St. Lawrence University. The task this week was Utica College home at Harkness Field on Wednesday, and Keene State College on the road Sunday afternoon.

Play was very evenly matched in the early going on Wednesday, but Utica jumped on the board at the 15:00 mark when senior Meghan Zaklukiewicz scored on a pass from sophomore Elizabeth Knudsen.

RPI was able to answer back just over 10 minutes later when sophomore Shaina Feldman blasted home a shot, the assist from senior Michelle Clemente. Going into halftime the score would remain tied at one.

In the second half, Utica regained the lead at the 49:53 mark. Knudsen earned her second assist, this time finding freshman Kim Martin for the goal.

Zaklukiewicz tallied one more goal before the game was over to make it a 3-1 game, which would ultimately be the final score. Amanda McDonnell made 13 saves for the Pioneers, while freshman Lauren Fernandez made seven for the Red Hawks.

Sunday proved to be another difficult day for Rensselaer. Karen Robinson gave the Owls the first lead just three minutes into the contest, putting in a shot past senior goalie Kate Williams after receiving a pass from teammate Sam Blanchard. Kat Trimmer added another score at the 14:50 mark to make it 2-0 in favor of Keene State. The Owls would add one more score in the first half, Carly Benning putting a shot home off of a rebound with just four seconds remaining on the clock, giving her team a commanding 3-0 lead headed into halftime.

Unfortunately for Rensselaer, it was more of the same when play resumed in the second half. The Owls would add three additional goals while RPI was able to mount just one. Benning scored again at the 38:37 mark on a pass from Trimmer.

Feldman scored the Red Hawks lone goal at the 41:40 mark. She was unassisted on the play. Alyssa Rowell and Maegan Moran rounded out the scoring for Keene State, scoring at the 43:41 mark and the 53:54 mark, respectively, as the game ended with a final score of 6-1 in favor of the Owls.

On the day, RPI outshot its opponent 23-20, but could not capitalize on any opportunities, a testament to the strong play of Keene State goalies Jennifer McDougall and Vikki Stoessel, who combined for 11 saves. Williams made 12 stops for Rensselaer.

The Red Hawks will be back in action this Friday and Saturday with games versus the University of Rochester and Williams Smith College on back-to-back days. Both are Liberty League contests, and both will be on the road.