ONEONTA, NY - Junior Julie Kessler (Canton, CT/Canton) scored for the second straight match to lead Hartwick's women's soccer team to a 1-0 shutout win over RPI on Wednesday night on Elmore Field. The victory snaps a five-game winless streak for the Hawks and improves their overall season mark to 6-8-2. The Engineers fall to 4-10-2.
On the game-winning tally, Kessler received a pass from senior Briana Crow (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) and fired a shot roughly 23 yards from the RPI net. The shot caught a piece of an Engineer defender at the top of the box to slightly redirect the ball, but the pace was too much for RPI keeper Stephanie Vargas to handle and it skimmed past her to her left-hand side for a 1-0 'Wick lead. Kessler now leads the team in scoring on the year with three goals and two assists for eight points.
The Hawks trailed the Engineers in shots 7-5 in the first half of action but still were able to enter halftime with the one-goal edge. The second half was controlled by RPI, which took 10 of the 11 shots in the final 45 minutes. 'Wick, however, limited the visitors to few solid scoring chances.
RPI had a great chance to tie the score with about 25 minutes left. Following an Engineer shot, the ball slipped away from 'Wick keeper Alyssa Rondo (Saco, ME/Thorton Academy) and sophomore forward Shannon Maguire pounced on the loose ball. Her shot, however, was kept out by a Hawk defender. A scramble on the goal line ensued with RPI unable to put the ball in.
Freshman forward Sara Rothschild had the last chance of the match with just over three minutes left. Following a cross into the box from the left side of the Hartwick goal, Rothschild got her head to the ball but it was right at Rondo for her eighth and final stop of the night to preserve the shutout win.
The clean sheet is Rondo's fourth of the season and the team's 6th of the 2010 campaign. Vargas stopped two shots in the loss. Deanna Amoia played the second half in goal for the Engineers making one save.
Hartwick will wrap up the season this Saturday, October 30th at 1 p.m. at Wright Stadium. The Hawks face Hamilton College, the 7th ranked team in the latest NSCAA East Region Poll.
