Weekend Sports Roundup 10/23 - 10/25

Football

Rensselaer 69 - Hilbert 14

Thomas Mulvaney returned the opening kick for an 85-yard touchdown as Rensselaer bulldozed the Hilbert College Hawks 69-14.

The winless Hawks, coming off a 38-0 loss to Rochester, surrendered the lead just twelve seconds into the game when senior Mulvaney sliced through the Hawks’ special teams to earn his first touchdown as an Engineer.

After the Hawks responded with a running touchdown in the following drive, the Rensselaer offense would pick up from where the special teams left off with three consecutive touchdowns, with Anthony DeMatteo delivering touchdowns to Nate Ehui, Josh Young, and Chris Ahle. DeMatteo, who would hand the reins of the offense to Frankie Garbolino at halftime with Rensselaer leading 49-7, would finish his day with 182 passing yards.

Hilbert’s offense, which did not have a single passing attempt the entire game, was limited to two touchdowns by the Engineer defense. Defensive back Jonathan Walker led the team with seven total tackles, and fellow teammate Cortez Garrett tallied six total tackles and forced a fumble.

The win, the greatest point tally away from home in program history, sees Rensselaer improve to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the Liberty League. The Engineers will travel to St. Lawrence on November 1st in hopes of extending their win streak to six.

Field Hockey

Rensselaer 4 - Skidmore 3

Sophia Brown fired in the winning goal, breaking the program’s single-season goal record to give Rensselaer the win over Capital Region neighbor Skidmore College Thoroughbreds 4-3, snapping a three-game skid.

Brown would open the scoring ten minutes into the game, but Skidmore would respond with two goals of their own soon after to take the lead. Just before the twenty-minute mark, however, Ella Pasquarelli dribbled past three defenders, laying it off to Brown, who put it away to level the score.

The match remained tied until Katie Galgay gave the Engineers the lead early in the fourth quarter. However, Skidmore would equalize again with less than six minutes into the game.

With the game threatening to go to overtime, the ball fell to Brown on the edge of the shooting circle off a corner with just over two minutes in the game. Brown snapped it from the arc, whipping it past the Thoroughbred defense to seal the match.

The goal, Brown’s eighteenth of the season, broke a record that has stood for 45 years. The Engineers will hope to continue the momentum as they face Vassar College in Poughkeepsie this Wednesday.

Men’s Hockey

Rensselaer 2 - Minnesota State 4

Rensselaer 1 - Minnesota State 2

Two goals from Filip Sitar were not enough, as the Engineers were swept by hosts #20-Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks over the weekend.

Rensselaer’s offense was put at bay for much of the first game; Mankato’s staunch defense limited Rensselaer to just 19 shots on goal. After the Mavericks put two past the Engineers, Rainer Rullers, one of the few players who remained with the team from last season, would score his first goal for the program to reduce the deficit to one. Mankato would score another two goals before Filip Sitar scored his first of the weekend.

The Engineers would open the scoring in the second game late in the first period when Sitar fired it into the top corner of the net. The Mavericks, however, scored two unanswered points to seal the match. Rensselaer showed more signs of life in this second contest, outshooting the hosts 30-18.

Rensselaer hopes to reverse its fortunes when it begins conference play against rivals Union College in a two-game series, split between Schenectady and the Black Out game at Troy.

Soccer

Men - Rensselaer 1 - St. Lawrence 2

Women - Rensselaer 0 - St. Lawrence 1

Rensselaer’s soccer teams both fell to St. Lawrence University Saints over the weekend.

The men’s team, which hosted the Saints at Troy, fell behind in the tenth minute before Christopher McKinney converted a penalty kick to equalize. In the 36th minute, however, the Saints took the lead for good.

The women's team, which traveled to St. Lawrence, was unable to find the back of the net as the Saints scored the only goal of the match. Audrey Montero made six saves.

The men's team will host Vassar College on Wednesday and then travel to Hobart on Saturday. The women's team will host Bard and William Smith on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively.

Upcoming Home Games

Men’s Hockey: Union College, November 1st @ 4 pm at Houston Field House

Women’s Soccer: William Smith College, November 1st @ 2pm at East Campus Athletic Village

Swimming & Diving: Ithaca College, November 1st @ 2 pm at Robinson Pool