Senior Hilary Lahn tallied a hat trick, and the Rensselaer women’s lacrosse team came back from a three goal halftime deficit to defeat the 14th-ranked Union Dutchwomen 8-6 on Friday in the Liberty League opener for both squads. The Red Hawks couldn’t keep the momentum going, however, falling to the Skidmore Thoroughbreds 10-4 the following day.
Against Union, RPI got on the board first when sophomore Sabrina Alimi beat goalie Rachel Beckman with a free position shot, 3:38 in. The Dutchwomen responded, as Molly Flanagan scored two goals five minutes apart to give Union a 2-1 lead 11 and a half minutes into the first.
Lahn tied the game 29 seconds after Flanagan’s second goal when she received a pass off a restart and weaved through the defense, firing a shot that found net just under the crossbar.
Union controlled the rest of the half as Flanagan sandwiched her third goal of the game between two Erin Lawson goals to give the Dutchwomen a 5-2 halftime lead.
The Red Hawks didn’t let the deficit bother them, as Lahn won control of the half’s opening face off and scored her second goal of the game 25 seconds in. Junior Kate Phillips and freshman Carly Strife scored two minutes apart to tie the score at five with 24:28 left.
Three and a half minutes later, junior Rebecca Primm gave RPI the lead for good with a free position shot. Lahn tallied her third goal and Phillips scored her second of the match as the Red Hawks scored six straight goals to take a 8-5 lead with 5:46 left.
The Dutchwomen came back 39 seconds later, when Tanya Davis used a good individual effort to beat goaltender Megan Gaul and close the gap back to two goals. RPI didn’t let the goal phase them however, as they were able to keep possession in the Union end and run the clock out for the upset.
Beckman finished with five saves, all in the first half, for the 1-2 Dutchwomen. Gaul made 12 saves in the victory.
“The defense played huge together,” commented head coach Leslie Khachadourian on who stepped up in the second half. “Carly Strife was the best player on both sides of the field.”
When asked what she said at halftime to her team, Khachadourian replied, “I asked them if they believed in themselves and wanted to win this game. They said they wanted it and it showed.”
On Saturday, the Red Hawks fell behind at halftime again, this time 4-2. Lahn and Phillips had the goals in the first half. Phillips also assisted on Lahn’s goal.
This time, however, it was Skidmore that took advantage in the second half, scoring the first five goals of the session to extend the lead to 9-2 with just over 12 minutes left.
A minute after the ninth Thoroughbred goal, freshman Natalie White took a pass from Alimi and bounced a shot past goaltender Sarah Berheide. After Shardae Gonsalves extended the lead to 10-3, Alimi again fed a pass to White who beat Berheide with 1:45 left on the clock. It was too little, too late, as RPI took a split out of the weekend.
Berheide made nine saves for Skidmore, who improved to 4-1. Gaul stopped 14 shots in the loss. The Red Hawks fell to 1-2 on the season and 1-1 in the Liberty League.
Rensselaer is back in action today when they make the short trip down I-87 to Kingston, N.Y., to take on Vassar at 8 pm. On Friday, the Red Hawks travel to Clinton, N.Y., to take on Hamilton at 4 pm. RPI returns to Harkness Field where they take on Western New England College at 7 pm on Tuesday.
