Box Score

TROY, N.Y. –. The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women’s soccer tallied two first half goals and battled through a scoreless second half to shutout visiting Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), 2-0, in non-conference action. With the victory, the Red Hawks improve to 5-7-1, while the Trailblazers fall to 3-9-1 on the season.

The Red Hawks jumped out to 1-0 lead in the first half on a goal by sophomore Shari Kleiman (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough) at 11:04. Attempting to keep play going in front of the MCLA net, Kleiman kicked the ball toward Trailblazers’ keeper Kristean Kissel (Champlain, NY/Northeastern Clinton). Kissel came out to play the shot but a misplay sent the ball bouncing into the net for the goal.

Rensselaer doubled its lead at the 21:49 mark, when senior Kerstin Kraft (Albuquerque, NM/LaCueva) scored off a cross from freshman Briana Bet (Whitehall, PA/Allentown Central Catholic). Bet kicked the ball to the top of the box and Kraft sent a hard shot past Kissel for the tally.

Both MCLA and Rensselaer had scoring opportunities in the second half, but defense prevailed as Red Hawks keeper Tara Marandino (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa), who was later relieved by freshman Caitlin Burns (Clinton, NY/Clinton), posted one save on the afternoon. Burns also made one save in 2:53 of work.

Kissel posted five saves in the first half, taking the loss for MCLA while freshman Ashley Collins (Old Rochester, MA) stopped five shots in the second half for the Trailblazers.

Rensselaer closes out its Liberty League regular season schedule next weekend. The Red Hawks travel to Clarkson (4pm) and St. Lawrence (2pm) on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The Trailblazers travel to Green Mountain College on Tuesday (3:30pm).