An impressive run for the Red Hawks came to an end on Friday afternoon as the Rensselaer field hockey team lost to William Smith College 1-4 in the semi-finals of the Liberty League Tournament.
Rensselaer finished the regular season with a .500 record (9-9) after hanging tough in the latter stages of the year. As a result of winning a couple of very important games down the stretch, the women earned a bid to play in the Liberty League Tournament. Their first game, however, was a match-up with the top-seeded Herons.
RPI grabbed the early lead when sophomore Sara Stylinski scored at the 6:52 mark. “We scored early, which is something we talked a lot about throughout the season. By scoring early it gives you the chance to control the pace of the game, and it was one of our major goals going into the game,” said senior Emily Carroll. The goal, however, created a false sense of security for the Red Hawks, as things only got worse as the game progressed.
“William Smith found their energy as well and came back at us hard. Sophie Dennis, a senior for William Smith and 2nd in points in DIII field hockey, scored 3 goals that game. We just couldn’t seem to shut her down, which we did very well when we played William Smith the first time this year,” explained junior Michelle Clemente on the first half’s turn of events.
Dennis scored her first goal of the game at the 12:56 mark, and then scored twice more within three minutes, sending a message and putting the Red Hawks behind by two before they realized what hit them.
Ashley Barker added one more for William Smith before the game was over, making the tally 4-1 which would be the final score. Senior Jen O’Neil finished with 12 saves in goal for RPI in the loss.
Rensselaer’s season came to an end as the women finished with an overall record of 9-10, after hovering around .500 for the majority of the season. RPI started the year off going 2-4 before an all important 4 game win streak that established the women as a legitimate threat and playoff contender in the Liberty League.
For the remainder of the season, RPI traded wins and losses, unable to string another run together. A few of their wins were huge mentally and morally for Rensselaer, but a few of the losses were games that the Red Hawks could have won.
Overall, it was a very impressive year for the field hockey team, one in which the team progressed greatly skill-wise as they came together to form a solid core of talent. The Red Hawks will graduate a few key players. “Our seniors had an amazing season. Jen O’Neill and Liz Szewczak were outstanding in goal, and Emily Carrolland Andrea Flynn were always getting the ball out of the defense and up to our fowards. We are really going to miss them, and our girls have some big shoes to fill,” said sophomore Sarah Stylinski. “We currently have a freshman goalie, but I would hope that our coach would recruit at least one more for our team needs,” junior Sarah Merlin would add.
“We were so proud to be at playoffs. We didn’t have a chance to go last year, and it was a great achievement to be one of the top four teams in the Liberty League,” said Carroll. The women certainly feel that they could have gone further in the tournament, but they will get another shot at it next year.
A number of Red Hawks received end of the year honors. Junior Michelle Clemente led the team in scoring with 21 points with a team high nine goals. Michelle Roy, a junior midfielder and defensive standout, also had a great year for RPI. Both Clemente and Roy were named to the Liberty League’s Second team. Sophomore Kristiina Baker and senior Emily Carroll both earned Honorable Mentions as well for their impressive play and great contributions to the team’s success throughout the season.
