Last Wednesday night, the Rensselaer Engineers were scheduled to kick off against the Keene St. Owls at 7:30 pm. However, with less than ten minutes left until kickoff, it was reported that none of the referee staff were present. Alternative referees were called to fill the vacancy, and thirty-six minutes after the initial kickoff, the game was underway. Coming into the game, the Engineers boasted a record 1–0–1, with a 1–1 tie to Clark University in their last game.
In the opening ten minutes, the delay seemed to affect the players, with both sides unable to build up play and formulate attacking chances. In the 11th minute, Rensselaer’s Christopher McKinney shattered the deadlock with a spectacular free kick into the upper right corner. Invigorated by the goal, the Engineers continued to apply pressure, with a handful of scoring opportunities in the following minutes. Frustrated by the lack of possession, Keene State started to resort to aggression to break the elongated periods of attack, fouling Rensselaer over 10 times in the next 25 minutes. Tensions boiled over after a missed foul call on Rensselaer, leading to a stoppage of play by the referee to discuss the decision and discipline Keene State Head Coach Matt Schmidt, eventually giving him a yellow card for his interjection. After the stoppage, both teams settled into the game and traded scoring chances until Keene State’s Luke Belisle commits a foul just over midfield. McKinney delivered another beautiful free kick to Rensselaer’s Justin Woodbine, who delivered a powerful header just under the crossbar and past the keeper. The score was 2–0 Rensselaer just before halftime.
As the second half kicked off, both Rensselaer and Keene State understood that they both needed to keep their foot on the gas, as the lead could be eclipsed. Rensselaer hit the ground running. Five minutes after the break, Joshua Jarden and Jax Jameson broke down the left side and placed a low cross toward the penalty spot, where Harrison Brownlow calmly passed it into the bottom corner. 3‒0 Rensselaer. In the minutes after the goal, Rensselaer seemed to relax. They allowed Keene State long periods of possession, which led to dangerous chances for Keene State. In the 53rd minute, Keene State winger crossed the ball to wide-open Edoardo Tambini, who volleyed a low shot that forced an excellent save from Rensselaer’s goalkeeper, Noah Churchill. In the next fifteen minutes, Keene State continued to formulate good attacking chances until they finally struck gold. In the 71st minute, Keene State winger got past his defender and crossed to the center of the box, where Jorge Saez Zaura laid it out for Lapo Cabianca to calmly curl a shot into the far post. The goal gave Keene State side belief. Unfortunately, that belief slammed shut when their aggressive playstyle caught up to them. Pierpaolo Cosmo Gallardo made a late tackle, giving him a red card, leaving Keene State to play the remaining thirteen minutes with ten players on the field, fundamentally shutting the door on any comebacks.
The game ended 3‒1 in Rensselaer’s favor, moving them to 2‒0‒1 on the year. The Engineers' next home game is scheduled for September 19 against Oneonta at 6 pm. The box score for this game can be found here.
