The opening minutes of women’s lacrosse play were slow as both teams looked to get into the action, and just one shot was taken in the first five minutes of the game. The Red Hawks were first on the board when junior Morgan Wahl scored off a pass from sophomore Carly Mahony at the 24:14 mark, giving RPI an early 1-0 lead. Vassar countered roughly two minutes later when junior Christine Castellan was able to find the net to tie the game at one.
It would be almost 11 minutes before either team scored again, but with 11:22 remaining in the half, freshman Jennie McAllister gave Vassar their first lead of the game, 2-1, off a free position shot.
Vassar would score once more in the first half at the 7:34 mark, with sophomore Ashley Rey scoring an unassisted goal. However, sophomore Morgan Shea gave RPI some momentum in the closing minutes of the first, scoring on a free position shot with just five seconds remaining on the clock, putting the Red Hawks down just one, 3-2, headed into the break.
When play resumed in the second half, the Brewers came out firing on all cylinders. Right off the bat McAllister scored for the second time, giving Vassar a two goal advantage, 4-2. Castellan would then score two goals back-to-back for the Brewers in a span of just three minutes. Additionally, after Katama Martellucci put home a goal at the 18:08 mark, the Red Hawks found themselves down 7-2.
The RPI women, though, were not done and found the energy to mount an impressive comeback. Wahl scored her second goal at the 11:31 mark off a free position shot to start the Rensselaer run. Junior Carly Strife scored two unassisted goals in a three minute span to bring the score to 7-5, and all of a sudden RPI was back in the game.
Mahony tallied her first score, an all-important one, on a line drive shot with four minutes remaining in the contest to put the Red Hawks down 7-6—it looked as if the women might just be able to pull this comeback off.
RPI battled in Brewer territory, surrounding the goal and looking for any opportunity to score but they were unable to find an opening. A costly turnover with 1:06 left in the game sealed the deal as Vassar maintained control of the ball and ran out the clock.
Castellan led the way for Vassar with three goals and an assist for four points. Strife and Wahl each scored twice to lead the RPI attack. The Red Hawks held a 22-18 advantage in shots, but were behind by four in ground balls, 25-21, and turned the ball over twice as many times, 24-12.
The Rensselaer women will return to action on Friday when they take on Clarkson at 4 pm, and then play again on Saturday at 3 pm versus St. Lawrence. Both games are home at Harkness Field.
