“A lot went well this weekend,” said Head Coach Cord Farmer. “I think we brought the right mentality and the right attitude to both games and overall I was very pleased with our performance”

In Friday evening’s loss to St. Lawrence, freshman goaltender Abby van Geldern made six saves in the victory, good for her seventh shutout of the year. Red Hawks sophomore Meaghan White in the opposite net made five saves in the losing effort.

Midway through the first half, Saints sophomore forward Lizzie Bogosian netted the eventual game-winner at 24:58 off a corner kick by sophomore back Nicky Aynes. St. Lawrence added the insurance goal with less than 50 seconds remaining in the game, as sophomore forward Kaitlyn Fahsel made an airborne pass up the right flank to junior Lauren Annaldo, who headed the ball past White for the goal.

Despite a 20-15 shot advantage held by St. Lawrence, the Red Hawks provided strong pressure throughout the entire 90 minutes of play, including two near-goal opportunities.

During the first half, freshman midfielder Catherine Harvey was staked out in front of the net, and was able to get her head on the ball, but sent it off the crossbar for a missed opportunity. Late in the second half, RPI almost placed on the board as senior forward Sarah Hinz streaked down the left side into the Saints’ zone, but had the ball stolen by a defender in the left corner before it was sent back up midfield.

In the final 45 minutes of play, each team had eight shots, and the evening finished with six shots on net for RPI, and seven for St. Lawrence. “Unfortunately we didn’t get the result we wanted against St. Lawrence, but I think we played well enough to get the win or the tie. That’s soccer sometimes—you don’t get the win even though you put in a performance that’s equal or better than the other team,” explained Farmer.

Heading into Saturday’s match with a six-game losing streak looming overhead, the Red Hawks started out strong against the Golden Knights and never looked back as they claimed their first win since September 13. The win was also the Red Hawks’ first in Liberty League play this season. “We did a great job creating chances; we worked well as a team and kept our shapes and tactics we had planned for the weekend. As a team we were hungry for goals, and although we deserved more goals than the two we scored against Clarkson, it was still a great game,” Farmer noted.

Rensselaer took command early on the in game, firing off several shots in the opening minutes of play. The main motivation for the team was to answer the question: “Where are the goals?” as RPI took the lead within the first few ticks of the clock. Six minutes into the game, freshman Sara McMurray sent a cross pass into the penalty area, where junior Brianna Bet one-timed the pass out of the air past freshman Caitlin Titus for her fourth goal of the season. McMurray, who has stepped up in the absence of a few injured key players on the team, had a superb performance on the evening, creating many great plays and stepping up as a leader. “She was probably one of the best players on the field for several long blocks of time,” said Farmer with much pride. “The sky’s the limit for her if she keeps getting better as she has all season.”

The Red Hawks netted their second goal of the game, and game winner early in the second half at 48:41 off a goal by Hinz from low in the corner. Freshman Alexandra Fontanetta was credited with the assist, making the initial pass during the play.

Although RPI provided much stress to the Golden Knights’ defense throughout the remainder of the game, they were unable to add any additional goals to cushion their victory.

Clarkson’s sole goal of the game came at 77:25, as senior Deana Huntley made a short pass to classmate Jill Collins, who sent a high shot past White.

RPI lead the game in both shots on net (15) and corner kicks (seven). White made three saves in the win, while Clarkson’s Titus and sophomore Cait Spaeth combined for nine saves on the night.