Weekend Sports Roundup, Sept 19 - 21, 2025
Field Hockey
Rensselaer 6 - 1 Eastern Connecticut State
A brace from Sophia Brown and two goal contributions from both Kylie Secker and Ria Patel lifted the Engineers past the Eastern Connecticut State Warriors 6-1 on Saturday.
Rensselaer would jump ahead less than two minutes into the match—thanks to Brown—and never look back, scoring three goals in the first quarter and tacking on another in the second. The Warriors would manage to score a consolation goal at the end of the third quarter, but not before Rensselaer put six goals past them.
The win sees the Engineers improve to 5-2 on the season. They will remain at home when the SUNY Brockport Golden Eagles come to town this Saturday.
Men's Tennis
Union Garnet Charger Invitational
Victories by Tasmay Shah and Siddharth Srinivasan in two of the Singles brackets led the way for Rensselaer at the Garnet Charger Invitational this weekend.
The Engineers brought eight entrants to the tournament, which was attended by Drew University, St. Lawrence University, Trinity College, and host Union College. Seven Engineers competed in a singles bracket, while all eight competed in doubles brackets.
In the Singles brackets, Shah won Bracket A, dismantling Trinity’s Sam Park 7-5, 6-1. The final of Bracket B would be contested by two Engineers: Viennet Gustave, who earlier defeated his St. Lawrence and Trinity competitors, and Srinivasan. A fierce, back-and-forth match would eventually see the latter prevail after a tiebreaker in a 7(7)-6(2), 5-7, 10-3 win. Bracket D saw freshman Felix Puyplat reach the final by beating St. Lawrence’s Aidan Baracao and Union’s Riichi Nagatake. Fellow freshman Ethan Collingwood would also reach the final in Bracket E, defeating St. Lawrence’s Bennett Stout and Willem Naughton.
The Engineers will play their first game in the Liberty League when they host Bard College on October 1st.
Cross Country
Purple Valley Classic
Women - 3rd of 5
Men - 3rd of 4
Junior Jules Bleskoski led the way in her race as both the women's and men's cross country teams placed third in Williams College’s Purple Valley Classic. The men’s 8K race was contested by Tufts University, Williams College, and Molloy University. The women’s 6K race featured the same teams along with Connecticut’s Trinity College.
Bleskoski dominated her 80-person race, finishing 80 seconds ahead of second place. Senior Tessa Bossom would join Bleskoski in the top twenty as the Engineers finished the weekend with a score of 69, below Tufts’ 58, while Williams took first.
The men’s team would place five Engineers in the top twenty out of 85 runners. Led by junior Evan Lacey in fifth and senior Justin Cascio in sixth, Rensselaer finished with 43 points. Despite the promising points total, the Engineers fell just short of victory, with Williams and Tufts ending the weekend with 41 and 36 points, respectively.
The Engineers will travel to Lehigh University to compete in the Paul Short Invitational on October 3.
Men’s Soccer
Rensselaer 2 - 3 SUNY Oneonta
Goals from Thomas Corcoran and Sam Shmukler were not enough as a resilient Rensselaer fell just short against hosts SUNY Oneonta Red Dragons on Saturday.
The Engineers found themselves in a hole early as the Red Dragons, ranked #24 in the nation, scored two goals in a span of fifty seconds in the ninth minute of the match. The Engineers would rally to equalize the game later in the half, thanks to goals from senior Corcoran and junior Shmukler, the latter of which scored his first of the season.
In the second half, however, the momentum of the game fell back to Oneonta, who fired nine shots to the Engineers' three. A strike from the Red Dragons in the 51st minute would break the deadlock, and Rensselaer was not able to respond.
The Engineers fall to 2-2-2 and will hope to bounce back against Plattsburgh State at home this Wednesday.
Women’s Soccer
Rensselaer 1 - 2 SUNY New Paltz
A late strike from Isabelle Gelzhiser would see Rensselaer's rally come up short as they lost to SUNY Paltz for the first time in thirteen years.
The Hawks outshot the Engineers 17-8, with eight of the former’s efforts on target throughout the game. The Engineers' defense held firm until goals from New Paltz in the 63rd and 77th minutes. Junior Gelzhiser's goal in the 89th minute would put the Engineers on the scoreboard, but Rensselaer would not have another chance in the remaining 54 seconds.
The Engineers drop to 4-3-1 and will host RIT to begin conference play next weekend.
Men’s Golf
Williams Fall Invitational, 10th of 15
Freshman Zydon Yuan took center stage once again, providing another standout performance in Rensselaer's tenth-place finish at Williams College.
The freshman picked up from where he left off two weeks ago, placing eighth overall out of the 79 entrants on a +6 over, including a brilliant third round where he finished second-best on a -1.
The Engineers will be back in action on the weekend of October 5th as they host the RPI Collegiate Invitational in Loudonville.
Upcoming Home Games
Men’s Soccer:
Plattsburgh State, September 24 at 3 pm at East Campus Athletic Village
Football:
University of Rochester, September 27 at 12 pm at East Campus Athletic Village
Women’s Soccer:
RIT, September 27 at 4 pm at East Campus Athletic Village
Field Hockey:
SUNY Brockport, September 27 at 2 pm at Harkness Field