Coming off a short week in which the RPI women’s soccer team lost their only game, the opening week of Liberty League play looked to be a tough test for the young Red Hawks, who are continually trying to grow as a program.
Rensselaer’s first game of the week was a contest with Hamilton College. It was a slow start for both teams, as there were no goals scored in the entire first half of play. Both teams were fighting for opportunities, but the defense proved to be too strong for either squad to score. In the second half, some changes would obviously need to be made.
The intensity of the Red Hawk players was turned up in the second half. Head Coach Eric Miller noted how his players came out and really stepped it up in terms of quality of play in the second. It was the Continentals, however, who scored the first—and ultimately, only—goal of the game. Sophomore Erica Dressler was able to chip the ball over senior goalie Tara Marandino, who had come off the line to try and make the save.
The Red Hawks managed only one solid opportunity to score, being out-shot 17-4, and they were unable to capitalize on it.
The second game of the week for Rensselaer was against William Smith College. The Herons got on the board first, just over 11 minutes into the game. Sophomore Katie Compton received a pass from William Smith junior Laura Burnett-Kurie, and netted it into the back of the goal to give her team the early lead.
William Smith’s second goal came with 13 seconds left to play in the first half. Heron senior Alex Rieben capitalized on her free kick opportunity and gave her team a 2-0 advantage going into half time.
Once again Miller was pleased with how much better his team came out and played in the second half. The women pushed and fought hard to get goals, but ultimately they just came up short. William Smith would score once more before the game was over. Heron sophomore Rayza Santiago scored off a pass from teammate Tracy Stakavage making the score 3-0, which would be the final tally of the game.
The theme for RPI this weekend was giving up goals early, then playing well in the second half. “Right now, it’s good to know that we are a second half team. We have a lot of potential, and I’ve seen some improvements as well as small successes,” said Coach Miller.
While it may appear that the team is struggling, fans can take comfort in the fact that a lot of first year players are stepping up, including freshmen Kelly Mills, Jackie Garlasco, and Amanda Nicklin, while upperclassmen Karen Kraft and Kristy Kolb continue to provide leadership. “We’re doing fine; I know they can play, we just need to be confident in our talent,” said Miller.
Next up on the schedule for the Red Hawks is Elmira College on Saturday. The game looks to be very similar to the match-up versus SUNY New Paltz, a game that the team believes it can win.
