Mayor’s Cup for Schenectady: Engineers two-timed by Union

A late comeback effort from Rensselaer’s women’s team was not enough as the Engineers fell to rivals Union College in the opening match of the Mayor's Cup with a 3-2 defeat. The Engineers came into this match hoping to bounce back from their loss Friday night in Schenectady, where Union scored 2 unanswered goals in the third period to down the Engineers 2-1.

As both teams vied for control of the match in the neutral MVP venue, Rensselaer’s defensive inconsistency began to rear its head again. While the Engineers, spearheaded by Nyah Philip, did well to pressure the Garnet Charger's offensive efforts, miscommunication on defense were also prevalent. In one instance, a defensive mishap resulted in a shot slipping under Keating and luckily settling itself in the crease just a few feet from the net. Rensselaer would not always be this fortunate, as Union would strike first due in part to a compromised Engineer defense.

RPI would fight back, amping the pressure against the Garnet Chargers, thanks in part to a power play, putting Union on the defensive. But Union would strike back and score again, closing out the first period with a 2-0 lead.

The first half of the second period would be much of the same, with both teams trading blows. Union managed to slot in yet another goal, taking advantage of confusion among the Engineer defense to open up the avenue for a clear shot. Finding themselves in a three-goal deficit, the Engineers continued to fire shot after shot until a close up shot from Aylah Cioffi put RPI on the scoreboard.

The third period would continue Rensselaer’s momentum, with the Engineers shooting 13 shots on goal throughout the period. Andrea Trnkova, who had been firing shots from distance for much of the game, would eventually strike gold, lowering the deficit to one. Rensselaer would continue to besiege the Garnet Charger’s net for the rest of the game, but Union would manage to prevail, ending the game at 3-2. The loss broke the Engineer’s run of four consecutive Mayor’s Cup victories and allowed Union to sweep the Engineers in all three competitions this year.

The men’s game started off strong for the Engineers, going in guns-blazing for their rivalry game. Tension between both teams was high out of the gate, with the Engineers pulling off far more connections on offense than usual, but the Garnet Chargers responded with even more aggression. Jack Brackett scored the first goal of the game for Rensselaer off of a slick pass from Jake Gagnon, a goal that was matched two minutes later by Union’s Josh Nixon. The score remained tied at 1-1 for most of the game.

Several close calls at both goals amounted to a stalemate in the second period and most of the third, though not for a lack of trying. Two near misses in the second period kept the Garnet Chargers on their toes, with one puck walking the Union goal line before getting cleared by a defender.

Nixon scored his second goal of the night in the third period, sending a long shot through several Rensselaer defenders and the goalkeeper to pull Union ahead. The Engineers were quick to respond this time, setting up Jeremie Payant for a dead-center slap to tie it up. The energy went up even higher, both for attempts on goal and square offs between players, one including a broken stick. Several fights between Union and Rensseler players went unpenalized and only made each team more desperate to score.

Union eventually got their chance in overtime, when an aggressive three-on-three formation managed to run the puck across the ice and deep into the Rensselaer goal. The final score of the game was a 3-2 loss for the Engineers.

The women’s team will play at Yale on Friday. The men’s team will return to the Houston Field House on Friday and Saturday, first to play Brown and then to play Yale in the 47th annual Big Red Freakout game. Click here for the womens’ box score and click here for the mens’ box score.