An outstanding five goals separated the two sides as Rensselaer's Women’s Soccer team cruised past Vermont State University Castleton in a clear victory for their first home game of the season.
Rensselaer’s junior midfielder Annabelle Bachhuber opened up the scoring sheet early into the game, converting on a feed from senior midfielder Micaela Ross. This goal inspired the Engineers’ offense as they continued to put relentless pressure on the defense. A goal kick from Castleton almost saw the Engineers double their lead, but the shot was just wide. Castleton looked to respond with the fluid build-up play, launching several attacks and putting heavy pressure on Rensselaer’s defense, but the Engineers’ defensive line held strong.
The lead would double in the 27th minute of the action with a goal from senior forward Maddy Kaminski after a pass from sophomore defender Ava Davey, followed swiftly by another goal by junior midfielder Genevieve Ricci. Castleton would try to respond with a goal of their own, but the Engineers snuffed out every attempt made by the Spartan’s attack. The score at halftime was 3-0 to Rensselaer, with the Engineers showing no sign of slowing down.
The second half was more of the same story as Rensselaer continued to assert their attacking dominance on Castleton. The Engineer’s attacks were relentless, with wingers and midfielders putting balls into the box, but Castleton’s defense just barely held out, clearing the crosses as they came. The next inevitable goal finally came just after the 56th minute from freshman midfielder Chloe Liang after a great drop of the shoulder move before firing the ball into the bottom corner.
The rest of the half was almost a formality, with both teams trading possession of the ball as the clock winded down. The Engineers would end up scoring one final goal in the 87th minute from sophomore midfielder Clara Krumholz to bring the final scoreline of the game to 5-0 in a resounding win for the Engineers. The box score for the game can be found here.
Coming off that 5-0 win, the Engineers dominated the SUNY-Potsdam Bears on Saturday from the opening whistle. Rensselaer broke through in the 13th minute when sophomore defender Elsa Ryan won a loose ball down the left wing, cut in, and curled a shot into the far corner for the first goal of the game. After this first goal, the floodgates opened and SUNY could not get out of their own half of the field. Kaminski scored a tap-in after the SUNY keeper fumbled a cross in the 20th, and 30 seconds later senior defender Sophia Byron curled a first-time strike into the near post from outside the box. Ross assisted both goals, facilitating the game with passes down the wings and crosses into the box. Freshman defender Ally Buchanan made it 4-0 when she taped in the rebound from a saved shot in the 32nd minute. The fifth goal was an own goal by a SUNY defender, who accidentally bobbled a cross into the net, and the sixth goal was a calculated strike by senior forward Camila Dominguez to place the game truly out of reach. Yet, SUNY did not go empty-handed, scoring a late goal off a headed corner in the 84th minute.
All afternoon, Rensselaer truly suffocated SUNY with constant scoring opportunities, out-shooting Potsdam 19-2, turning over two-thirds of those shots on target, while Potsdam didn’t register a shot on target until their 84th minute goal. Potsdam’s inability to link defense to attack allowed RPI’s midfielders to win possession repeatedly before Potsdam could generate anything resembling an attack. Overall, the Engineers put on a tactical masterclass by picking apart Potsdam's mistakes and punishing them for the lack of coordination between position groups, along with their defensive errors.
The Engineers remain undefeated with a 3-0-2 record. They face Plattsburgh State in their next home game on Saturday, September 19. The box score for this game can be found here.
