After coming off a win in its previous contest against Elmira College, the RPI women's soccer team looked to build off of the momentum and carry it over into the two Liberty League games it played this past week, versus Union College on Friday and Skidmore College on Saturday.
The first game of the week for the Red Hawks was a nail biter against Union College. A scoreless first half ended with The Dutchwomen holding a 5-0 advantage of shots taken. Both teams had opportunities to try and score some points, but neither squad was able to capitalize.
Union came close to scoring when freshman Rachel Schneidman blasted a shot just under the crossbar near the middle of the goal. However, senior Red Hawk goalie Tara Marandino ended Schneidman's hopes as she made a diving save to prevent the goal. As a result, the contest remained knotted up at zero as the first half of play came to an end.
Union junior Caitlin Cuozzo scored what ended up being the game-winning goal with just under ten minutes left in the second half. Cuozza grabbed a loose ball near the center of the field, took the ball up along the left sideline, and then proceeded to send her shot past the reach of Marandino, who made six saves in the loss, for the score. With the goal, Union took the contest 1-0, and sent RPI packing with its first loss of the week.
Rensselaer's next game was a matchup with Skidmore College. The Thoroughbreds scored the first point of the game just about midway through the first half, when sophomore Sarah Whateley crossed the ball to teammate Allegra Robinson, who then sent the ball past the outstretched arms of Marandino.
Skidmore scored once more in the second half. Off a corner kick, Thoroughbred junior Anna Cerio headed the ball into the back of the net for the goal, making the tally 2-0.
The Red Hawks had a good opportunity to score late in the second half when freshman Jacquelyn Garlasco beat a number of Skidmore defenders and found daylight out in front of the goal. Her shot, however, went wide, and RPI was unable to score for the second day in a row.
As the season progresses, defense does not seem to be a problem for the team. The Red Hawks obviously will not be able to shut out opponents every game, and they have been able to keep opponent scoring to a minimum in virtually all of their games. Scoring, however, has been somewhat of a concern for Rensselaer. Six games remain on the schedule, and if the women are able to find a way to capitalize on scoring opportunities, perhaps a run at the postseason is not out of the question for Coach Miller and company.
The Red Hawks, whose record now stands at 3-6-1 on the season, will open up the coming week with a game on Friday afternoon versus Vassar College at 4 pm, followed by a match against Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on Saturday at 3:30 pm.
