Bridget LaNoir remains undefeated as head coach of the field hockey team, as the Red Hawks downed a pair of tough opponents this week.
On Wednesday, Rensselaer hosted the Hartwick Hawks. Hartwick usually fields a strong squad, and RPI’s coaches and players were all expecting a close match.
The Red Hawks, though, had the advantage of playing at home. Harkness Field has a turf surface, and Hartwick is used to playing on grass. The difference was apparent, as Rensselaer was able to play a faster game than the Hawks seemed accustomed to.
Forward Jenn Amyot opened the scoring at the 26:18 mark of the first half, deflecting in a pass from Back Katie Coleman to put the Red Hawks up 1-0. Amyot struck again with just 30 seconds left in the half, on a pass from Jess Pearson, giving RPI a decisive 2-0 lead.
In the second half, team Captain Marie Grieco added to the Rensselaer advantage, blistering a shot past the Hartwick goalie roughly six minutes into the half. Hartwick managed to come up with a goal with 23:06 remaining in the game, but it was too little, too late—RPI won by a 3-1 margin.
Saturday took the team to Westfield State College in Massachusetts. The Owls drove the game to overtime, but the Red Hawks pulled out a 2-1 victory to go 3-0 on the season.
Westfield’s only goal came late in the first half, putting RPI behind for the first time this season. Rensselaer took 10 shots in the period, but was unable to find the back of the net.
Amyot came through for the Red Hawks once again, though—her goal with 20 minutes remaining in the game ended the scoring in regulation and sent the game to OT.
Both teams exchanged several shots in the overtime period, but RPI’s Jessica Butler finally broke through with less than three minutes remaining, sealing the win for Rensselaer.
With their three wins so far this year, the Red Hawks are well on their way to improving upon last year’s 11-6 season that culminated in an appearance in the state quarterfinals. The team plays next on Saturday, when they host Oswego State; they also competed Tuesday at Keene State, but results of that match were unavailable at the time of publication.
