For Bridget LaNoir and the field hockey team, last weekend’s Liberty League openers didn’t go according to plan. The Red Hawks were outplayed by the ranked William Smith Herons on Friday, 4-1, and some sloppy mistakes let a close one slip away to the Rochester Yellowjackets on Saturday, 2-1.
“They have a very talented team,” said LaNoir of William Smith. “They played with an intensity that we weren’t ready for mentally.”
The Herons, which were ranked seventh in the nation heading into this week, got goals from four different players and tallied 17 shots on goal in total. Conversely, RPI only managed five shots on goal, with sophomore Sarah Merlin scoring the lone marker, which tied the game at one in the first half.
William Smith’s next two goals came within three minutes of Merlin’s, giving them a lead that they would not give back. The Herons’ Sophie Dennis had a goal and two assists, and Amy Kuzio contributed one of each.
“They had so much more time to make the plays,” said LaNoir. “We made them look so much better because we were giving them so much more room to play with.”
The team looked to rebound against Rochester on Saturday, after a particularly intense session that morning. “We had a good team meeting and discussion Saturday morning about our mistakes from Friday, and everyone was in agreement about things we needed to change,” said LaNoir.
That meeting paid an early dividend. “We scored within the first five minutes of the game,” stated LaNoir. The momentum, however, quickly faded. “As soon as we did that, we relaxed quite a bit, and fell into the same pattern of sloppy plays. We were not doing everything that we had ‘promised’ to do. Mistakes got much more frequent than they should have.”
Freshman Sara Stylinski scored the early goal, but the Yellowjackets tied it up late in the first half on Revay Wilson’s rebound goal on a penalty corner. Rochester took the lead for good off of another penalty corner goal in the second half.
“The availability of corners for Rochester was one of our downfalls,” lamented LaNoir.
The Red Hawks have two home games this week. The first is a Liberty League contest today at 4 pm against the Vassar Brewers. The team then takes on the Drew Rangers in a non-league game on Saturday at 1 pm.
LaNoir knows the Vassar game is a must-win for the team, but is confident in the team’s chances. “Vassar’s a grass team, so I think we should have a certain advantage over them on our surface. They have a few strong players, but I think once we step up and play our passing game, we should be OK,” she stated.
