The Rensselaer women’s lacrosse team entered the final weekend of the regular season at .500 in the league and needed to beat two of the top three teams in the UCAA to have a shot at making the UCAA postseason. Unfortunately for the Red Hawks, things were not meant to be as they lost two heartbreaking games, 8-7 to Hamilton and a 10-9 triple-overtime thriller to William Smith.
On Friday, RPI took on the Hamilton Continentals. The Red Hawks got on the board first, just over a minute in, when junior Elisa Prange moved in from her defensive position to record her second goal of the year. The Continentals responded a minute and a half later when Liz Longley beat junior goaltender Meghan Gaul. Five minutes later, RPI again took the lead when senior Mary Beth Cooley put a shot past Hamilton goalie Kalley Greer.
The Continentals would go on a 4-0 run over the next twelve minutes to take a 5-2 lead with 10 minutes left in the half. The Red Hawks responded with goals by junior Hilary Lahn and freshman Emily Carroll, sandwiching a Continental goal to head into halftime down by two.
Hamilton’s Anne Lucas gave the Continentals a three goal cushion on a free position shot nine minutes into the second half. Rensselaer responded, getting three of the next four goals to bring the score to 8-7 with nine and a half minutes left.
The Red Hawks continued to keep the pressure on but the Continental defense and goalie Hilary Gamble were up to the task. Gamble made four saves, including keeping three free position shots out in the final 20 seconds to preserve the win for Hamilton.
Carroll, Cooley, and Lahn each had two goals, and Gaul ended with 11 saves for RPI. Longley led Hamilton with three goals and Greer and Gamble combined for 11 saves.
On Saturday, the Red Hawks looked to bounce back against the seventh-ranked team in the nation, the William Smith Herons. Senior Mary Roy controlled the opening draw and moved it into the offensive zone. Lahn got the ball and put a shot on goal which was saved by Heron goalie Rebecca Splain. On the clearing attempt, sophomore Rebecca Primm knocked the ball down, picked it up, and passed it to Lahn who ripped a shot past Splain to give RPI the early 1-0 lead.
William Smith came back, getting three goals in a two minute span to take a 3-1 lead. Primm responded for the Red Hawks, making a nice side step move around the defender, and put a shot top shelf to bring RPI closer.
Lahn tied the game at three with about 10 minutes left when she made a couple of cut back moves to get free and then buried a shot past Splain. William Smith got the lead back two minutes later on a free position shot from Nikki Traino. Rensselaer finished the half strong, getting goals from Primm, Lahn, and Cooley to take a 6-4 lead into halftime.
The Red Hawks continued to keep control of play and were rewarded five minutes into the second half when Lahn sent a pass to sophomore Erin Campbell, who put a shot past Splain to give RPI a three goal lead. William Smith came back though and got the next three goals to tie the game at seven. Lahn put the Red Hawks back up by one with a goal with eight and a half minutes left, but the Herons got it right back a minute later. Both teams tried to get the go ahead goal but both defenses were up to the task and at the end of regulation the score remained tied at eight.
In the first overtime, RPI controlled the ball and was rewarded with 18 seconds left when Primm beat Splain. In the second overtime, William Smith responded, getting a goal with 11 seconds remaining. In the third overtime, Heron Tracy Genovese was awarded a free position shot with three seconds left. Gaul made the save but Brighde Dougherty picked up the loose ball and put it in the net as the horn sounded to give William Smith the emotional 10-9 victory.
Lahn and Primm led the way, scoring a combined seven goals and two assists and Gaul made 16 saves for the Red Hawks. Dougherty and Gretchen Lasda paced the Herons with three goals each.
With the losses, Rensselaer falls to 6-8 overall and 3-5 in the UCAA.
Before the game, the Red Hawks honored four seniors for their contributions over the years. Attackman Jenn Celli played in eight games this season, recording six goals for RPI. Midfielder Mary Roy played in all 14 games this year, recording 27 goals and six assists for 33 points. Defenseman Alyssa Klem played in 11 games for the Red Hawks this year. Goalie Kelly Burr got into one game this year, recording one save and one goal against.
