This past week was a tough one for the RPI men’s soccer team, who after coming away with victories in their previous two games, were unable to do the same in this opening week of Liberty League competition.
The Red Hawks took on Hamilton College on Friday to start their weekend. Rensselaer went down early when Continentals sophomore Max Akuamoah-Boateng received a pass from teammate Bob Barrowman and put it past RPI goalie John Thibdeau, a senior, for the score. Hamilton would add to the lead roughly ten minutes later, off of a Red Hawk turnover, making the score 2-0 in the early going.
Rensselaer made a run of their own soon thereafter, scoring two goals off of set pieces, something they had been working on in practice the week before. The first score came with a scramble out in front of the net. Junior Aaron Gundle was able to collect the ball and get it to classmate Gary Sroka who put the elevated pass past the Hamilton goalie.
RPI then tied the game off a corner kick when the ball was driven into a crowd of players who scrambled for it. Freshman Lincoln Field was able to get a knee on the ball which proceeded to make its way off a defender, off the crossbar, and then into the goal for the score.
In the second half, the Red Hawks gave up their third goal of the day 20 minutes into play because of what Head Coach Adam Clinton called, “Just bad defending.” Rensselaer gave the ball away, and the Continentals were able to capitalize on the opportunity to take a 3-2 lead.
The final score came late in the game, when RPI was pressing hard in an attempt to get the ball back. The players failed to mark and missed an assignment, allowing Hamilton to score once more. This left the score at the end of regulation 4-2, with the Red Hawks picking up their third loss of the season.
RPI played well enough to control the ball for the majority of the game while creating a number of opportunities to score. The real story, however, was what the Red Hawks didn’t do rather than what Hamilton did. “We don’t track well, and our work rate is causing problems. We let players run and don’t defend well, and if we don’t change this, we can’t be successful,” said Coach Clinton.
Rensselaer tried to turn things around in their next game versus Hobart College, but found that they were dealing with many of the same problems. The Statesmen got on the board first when Thibdeau was drawn out of goal to block an initial shot, but the rebound made its way to another Hobart player who put it past the RPI goalie. The Red Hawks tied the game at one shortly after, when sophomore Mike Henzel’s shot hit the post and ricocheted into the back of the net.
While Rensselaer had many chances to stay in the game, much of the first half was an even struggle until late, when Statesman Matt Schwartz’s hard shot from outside the box sailed over Thibdeau to give Hobart a 2-1 advantage going into the half.
Hobart would score once more late in the game, sealing RPI’s fate in a 3-1 loss, but that was just the final blow in a weekend of frustration for the Red Hawks. Hobart’s victory on that day came from RPI’s inability to mark. Coach Clinton described how the midfield was disorganized and how that was something that will be worked on this week in practice.
“The mental mistakes can be fixed. The work rate concerns me and needs to be fixed if we want to succeed. We are very much alive in the league right now, and control our own destiny if we take care of business,” Clinton said of his team. He added, “The schedule doesn’t get any easier because the next ten games are very difficult. Right now, I’m looking for guys that are going to keep plugging, and that are willing to do the work needed.”
With their record now 4-4, RPI will try to turn things around on Wednesday versus Plattsburgh State. This will mark the start of a five game road trip for RPI, who won’t return home until October 14.
