The RPI men’s soccer team returned to action this weekend, participating in the Union Classic, its second tournament of the year, held in Schenectady, N.Y. The Red Hawks, who went 1-0-1 in their opening week of play, were looking to build up some momentum in the weeks before Liberty League play begins. The first test would be Ramapo College on Saturday, while SUNY New Paltz awaited its chance at Rensselaer on Sunday.
It didn’t take long for the Roadrunners to let the Red Hawks know that they were for real. Just under seven minutes into the game, Ramapo got on the board first and took the early lead. Freshman Giuseppe Trani did the honors, scoring on a low shot from right in front of the end line, putting it past RPI freshman goalie Alex Penny, with the assist going to sophomore David Marin on the play.
Roughly two minutes later, at the 9:08 mark, senior Raffaele Lauretta blasted another shot past Penny for the score after receiving a pass from Marin, his second assist of the day, and Rensselaer found itself in an early 2-0 deficit.
The Red Hawks were even with Ramapo in shot attempts and corner kicks in the first half, 7-7 and 1-1, respectively. They also committed fewer fouls, seven compared to the Roadrunners’ 11, but the RPI men were unable to tally any goals.
Ramapo, though, added one more at the 20:47 mark before the break—Lauretta scoring for the second time, this one unassisted, giving his team a commanding 3-0 advantage headed into halftime.
In the second half, play was more evenly matched. The action was back-and-forth, yet the Red Hawks were unable to gain any ground. Senior Bryan Choma headed in a ball at the 72:59 mark, putting the Roadrunners up 4-0, and ending any thoughts of an RPI comeback.
Penny made two saves in goal for Rensselaer while sophomore Ian Tighe made nine for Ramapo. On the day, RPI held the advantage in shots, 14-10, but could not make the most of its opportunities. Lady Luck was simply not on the Red Hawks’ side as the men took their first loss of the season.
On Sunday, it was Rensselaer that took the early 1-0 advantage on a goal in the 29th minute from freshman Jeff Hebert. Hebert made his way to the ball off of a service from sophomore Kevin Swift, and headed it in for the goal, which would be the margin headed into halftime. The Red Hawks held an 8-4 advantage in shots in the first, and a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks, which helped ignite the offense, unlike the day before.
When play resumed, Rensselaer’s offense looked even better. Senior captain Gary Sroka got into the goal scoring action, tallying his second goal of the season with a shot from 16 yards out that made its way past the New Paltz goalie, freshman Peter Carmel.
Junior Andrew Carter also made his presence felt for RPI late in the game. On a fast break, he took a pass from sophomore Ben Russell, and one-timed it in to the back of the net for the score. The Red Hawks now held a commanding 3-0 lead, which would be the game’s final score.
For the game, Rensselaer outshot New Paltz 21-6, a significant change from the loss to Ramapo just the day before. Penny recorded five saves in goal for RPI, earning his first career shutout. Carmel stopped nine shots for the Hawks.
It is clear that when the Red Hawks play the way Head Coach Adam Clinton wants them to play, and they are fully capable of doing so on a regular basis, then it will spell trouble for opponents. The men will look to stick to the basics of aggressive defense to create offense, and try to capitalize on more of their scoring opportunities.
After the weekend, Rensselaer’s record stands at 2-1-1. Next up for the Red Hawks will be their third straight tournament, the Manhattanville Tournament, held in Purchase, N.Y. RPI will square off against host Manhattanville College on Friday at 7 pm, and than take on St. John Fisher College on Saturday at 1:30 pm.
