TROY, N.Y. - Senior captain Tonya Frank scored the game's first goal and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's soccer team went on to defeat Hartwick, 3-1, this morning on Senior Day at East Campus Stadium. With the win, the Engineers conclude their regular season schedule with an 8-7-1 overall record, while the Hawks finish at 3-10-0.
Sophomore left back Alex Shaw took a free-kick from the right that Frank headed into the lower left corner of the net to give the Engineers a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute. The tally was the first of Frank's collegiate career.
In the 43rd minute, freshman Taylor Korytko played a ball in from the right flank to sophomore Rachel Scofield who touched the ball right around Hartwick freshman goalkeeper Hope Brown (Sherburne, NY/Sherburne-Earlville), before hammering a shot into the open net, to give RPI a 2-0 lead.
In the second half, the Engineers had a number of opportunities to add to their lead, beginning with a shot from the top of the 18 by junior Shannon Maguire that was ripped squarely off the crossbar and out.
The Hawks forced Rensselaer sophomore goalie Deanna Amoia to make the most difficult of her three saves in the 61st minute, when a free-kick by freshman Kylie Thayer (Ithaca,NY/Ithaca) was tipped off the crossbar by the out-stretched arms of Amoia.
Hartwick pulled to within 2-1 in the 76th minute on a deflected shot by senior Lysandra Tetreault (Saugerties, NY/Saugerties). Carrying the ball just inside the top of the box, Tetreault took a shot off the leg of an RPI defender and over Amoia, into the goal.
Engineers' junior captain Nikki Goodsell helped the home side extend its lead back to two goals (3-1) just three minutes later, when her ball into the Hawks penalty area was redirected home by sophomore Sara Rothschild. The tally was Rothschild's team-leading seventh of the season.
Amoia finished with three saves before being replaced by freshman Marisa Sciolino in the 76th minute. Brown had two saves in the first 45 minutes, while teammate Teagan Waddingham (Coeymans Hollow,NY/Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk) made three stops in the second half.
