Box Score
Box Score

ONEONTA, N.Y. - Sophomore Stephanie Caouette (Wyantskill, NY/Columbia) tallied a game-high six goals and seven other players scored to lead Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) to a 17-4 season-opening victory over Hartwick College on Thursday.  

Hartwick's Jen Kaye (Altamont, NY/Guilderland) got things going early as she opened in the scoring at the 27:01 mark of the first half.  The Hawks lead was shortlived however as Rensselaer broke open the game with the first of 12 straight goals starting at 24:02 on an unassisted tally by sophomore Afton Marshall (Windham, NH/Salem).

Caouette added three goals, including two assisted by junior Sam Fenessey (Gansevoort, NY/Saratoga Springs), in the middle of the half to make it a 7-1 lead with 12:21 remaining.  Marshall helped close out the scoring through the first 30 minutes with three consecutive goals for a 12-1 lead at halftime.  One of her goals came on a free position shot.

Rensselaer kept up the momentum as Caouette fired off three more goals to go up 15-1 just seven minutes into the second half.  Hartwick cut the deficit to 15-2 at the 14:05 mark on a goal by Katie Thorpe (South Windsor, CT/South Windsor) and managed to find the back of the net twice more, but were unable to stop the RPI offense, which held a 42-14 advantage in shots.

In addition to Caouette, who also had two assists, RPI saw Marshall tally five goals with two assists.  Fennessey finished with a goal and two helpers, while senior Carly Mahony (Topsfield, MA/Masconomet Regional) had a goal and two assists.

Junior Ariana Hood (Severn, MD/Old Mill) picked up the victory, stopping five shots and allowing just one goal.  Rookie Muryum Khalid (Avon, CT/Ms. Porter's) played the final 17:27 in relief, but did not have any saves.    

Hartwick's Kaye had a team-high two goals while rookie Lisa Isabella (Sandy Hook, CT/Newtown Central) stopped 20 shots in the loss.

Rensselaer (1-0) returns to action next week as it travels to Florida for a pair of games.  The Red Hawks face Ithaca on Tuesday (5pm) and play Ursinus on Friday (10am) before returning to the Northeast.  Hartwick (0-1) is back in action on Saturday as it heads to Fredonia State for a 1pm contest.