“It feels good to start the season with two wins. Those were the results we were looking for,” said first-year Head Coach Cord Farmer. “Scoring eight goals was what the ladies deserved as they attacked relentlessly during the matches. The best part was that we had several contributors on the score sheet and each member of the team executed our free kicks and tactical assignments well.”

Game one of the tournament pitted RPI against the Rutgers-Newark Raiders. Freshman midfielder Alexandra Fontanetta netted her first collegiate career goal and the team’s first goal of the season unassisted at 27:21. “I am so happy to have been given the opportunity to be part of such a great team. We worked very hard this pre-season and I think it’s paying off; I hope I will be able to contribute as strongly throughout the remainder of the season,” Fontanetta explained. Clawing their way back into the game, the Raiders added their sole mark at 35:53 to tie it up 1-1 with a goal by junior forward Whitney Huber. The Red Hawks added the game-winner at 46:22 by senior Sarah Hinz, assisted by Fontanetta, and never looked back.

Senior midfielder Judy Kastner added another tally, mere minutes after Hinz and the start of the second half, while juniors Briana Bet and Amanda Brophy added their own unassisted goals to close out the game.

Sophomore goaltender Meghan White turned aside five shots, as did Raiders goalie Kate Renteria in the loss.

Sunday’s match-up faced the Red Hawks against the SUNY New Paltz Hawks in a close-knit game that kept spectators absorbed in women’s soccer action to the final minutes. Kastner found the back of the goal three times in the match, scoring all of RPI’s goals in the victory.

Kastner’s first goal came in the first half, at 20:50 with an assist from sophomore midfielder Briana Gallup. Her second and third marks were both unassisted breakaways, coming at 52:21 and 67:32, respectively. “Before the first goal, one of my teammates, Brianna Gallup, fought her way through three or four defenders before connecting the ball to me. It was just so motivating to see the fight in her,” said Kastner. “I couldn’t just stop after one goal. For the rest of the game, we just kept working hard.”

New Paltz put a late effort out, scoring two goals within the final twenty minutes of play. Sophomore Kelly Gorton added a goal at 71:44, and classmate Rebecca Devlin added another with 15 minutes of play remaining. The Red Hawks were able to stave off the last minute drive and held onto the narrow lead.

White played another spectacular game in net, stopping three shots, while Hawks goalkeep Sarah Boccard had four saves in the losing effort.

“The first 30 minutes of the first half verses New Paltz was the best I’d seen us perform and move the ball around the field,” said Farmer. “It also showed that with all the quality of play we possess, we did not create enough chances and did a much better job in the second half to be a bit more dangerous. The matches also showed us some match-up issues we will need to deal with as well as some decision making errors that cost us a few goals.”

Following the weekend’s matches, Kastner was recognized by the Liberty League as Offensive Performer of the Week in women’s soccer. Last season, Kastner led the Red Hawks with goals­­—four—and was second in points.

RPI women’s soccer returns home to Renwyck Field this week, taking on neighbor Russell Sage College on Wednesday at 7 pm, and Alfred University in a Saturday matinee, with play beginning at noon.

“Right now our main focus is Russell Sage. After the Russell Sage game, we will focus on Alfred. Again, we’ll take it one game at a time. We are excited and pumped to play them, as we are to play any team. We are focused on being 1-0 at the end of every game day. One win and zero losses,” said Kasnter.

“The team is very excited to open up at home and I hope they will bring that energy into the match with them and play with some pride and enthusiasm tomorrow night,” said Farmer.