Senior Anne Drames netted two first-half goals and the Rensselaer women’s soccer team held on for their first win of the season, beating the Hartwick Hawks 2-1 in RPI’s final road game of the season.
“Our win against Hartwick was a long time in the making,” commented Head Coach Leslie Khachadourian. “We were able to settle in to the match and play the game we wanted to play—our pace and our style. We took risks offensively to ultimately produce two goals and defensively we got back to preserve our lead.”
The Red Hawks, who were out-shot 17-7 in the game, struck first. In the 16th minute the Hartwick tried to move the ball out of their own defensive end. Senior Liz Grammer stole the ball and sent a pass to Drames. Drames controlled the ball 15 yards from the goal and took a shot that went over the head of goaltender Stacey Griffin to give RPI a 1-0 lead.
Hartwick didn’t let the goal faze them. Seven minutes later the Hawks tied it at one when midfielder Rachel Johnson fired a shot from 20 yards out that beat junior goalie Jackie Gabriele off a pass from Kati Singsheim.
Drames put the Red Hawks up again in the 36th minute. She took a pass from classmate Jess Chetuck and ripped a low shot that beat Griffin to the right side. Hartwick didn’t have a response this time and RPI went into halftime clinging to a slim 2-1 lead.
“Anne Drames finessed two great shots past the keeper,” said Khachadourian on Drames’ two goals.
In the second half, the Hawks put the pressure on, out-shooting the Red Hawks 8-3. Gabriele and the rest of the RPI defense was up to the task however, keeping the ball out of the net and the Red Hawks finally ended their nine-game losing streak.
Griffin finished with two saves in the loss for Hartwick, which fell to 5-8 for the season. Gabriele recorded seven saves for Rensselaer, who is now 1-8-1.
Drames was named Liberty League co-Offensive Performer of the Week for her performance, sharing the award with Cassandra Mariani of Union.
The Red Hawks return to Harkness Field this weekend to finish out Liberty League play when they take on Capital Region rivals Skidmore and Union, Friday and Saturday, respectively.
“There is a sense of renewed hope and optimism headed into this weekend’s matches against Skidmore and Union,” commented Khachadourian. “Both games will be highly competitive, but we’re preparing this week to expose their weaknesses and play up our strengths.”
The game on Friday against the Thoroughbreds starts at 6 pm. Saturday’s kickoff against the Dutchwomen is at 4 pm.
