On Friday the women’s soccer team played Russell Sage College and recorded their second straight shutout, advancing their season record to 2-0.
The first half was a struggle for the Red Hawks, but the women were still able to score two goals before the end of the period. Freshman Betsy Farmer scored with 45 seconds remaining in the first half, just after Forward Susan Gonyea took a shot that bounced off the crossbar.
In the second half, however, the Red Hawks were able to pull it together and fall into a nearly magical rhythm which opened up scoring opportunities and completely shut down any offense that Russell Sage could put forth. RPI continued to hammer the opposing team with continuous offensive strikes from their set plays as well as from the 50/50 balls between the two teams.
Midfielder Kristy Nachman said after the game, "Russell Sage was a better challenge last year, but we simply played the game together and read each other very well."
Head Coach Aldo Nardiello was very proud of his team’s performance. However, he commented on "looking to continue working on pressing their tempo, speed, and rhythm in the beginning of the game."
Though this was expected to be a victory for Rensselaer, the team was ready for a slightly tougher match and a slightly better team than Russell Sage proved to be on the field. The team will be playing two much tougher teams this weekend, as they take on Hamilton and William Smith at home.
