The field hockey team earned its ninth win last week, continuing the chase to break the 11-win school record set by last year’s team. Downing Utica and Nazareth on Wednesday and Friday, they improved to 9-2 overall before suffering a setback at SUNY Brockport on Saturday.
The Red Hawks will have to go a perfect 3-0 in their remaining games to break the record.
Wednesday saw the last home game of the year for RPI, hosting the Pioneers of Utica. The Red Hawks opened the scoring early, when Jessica Butler had her shot deflect off a member of the opposing team and find its way into the back of the net. Chelsea Foley added an unassisted goal later in the half.
Early in the second half, the Red Hawks notched their third and final goal of the game when Tatiana Russell put home a penalty stroke.
Meanwhile, the RPI defense and Goalie Cathy Hotchkiss combined to shut out the Pioneers; Hotchkiss needed to make only three saves in the game.
RPI traveled to Nazareth on Friday to face the Golden Flyers, who were a lowly 3-9 on the year before the matchup.
Nazareth gave the Red Hawks a bit of a scare early, managing to get on the board three minutes into the game when Kelly Johnson got one past Hotchkiss. But RPI composed themselves and responded—Jenn Amyot scored shortly thereafter, assisted by Katie Coleman.
The two teams locked up from there out, and neither team was able to score again for the rest of the first half and all of the second. It would take almost eight minutes of sudden-death overtime to finally decide it, but Coleman came through in a big way for the Red Hawks and scored the game winner.
The Red Hawks’ defense was the story again, allowing only eight shots by the Golden Flyers. The offense, meanwhile, took 21 shots on the day.
SUNY Brockport, however, put a kink in RPI’s plans for a perfect week by shutting out the Red Hawks 1-0 on Saturday. The lone goal came on a penalty stroke with 16:15 left in the game.
The Red Hawks out-shot the Golden Eagles 16-7, but they were unable to crack Goalie Brittany Phillips, who made nine saves in the game.
The team was in action again yesterday against Keene in a matchup rescheduled from September 11, but the results of that matchup were unavailable at press time. They finish up their season this weekend away at the University of Rochester on Friday and in a key battle with archrival William Smith on Saturday.
