Box Score
Box Score

TROY, N.Y. – Powered by two first half goals, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's soccer team defeated Castleton State, 3-0, in the season opening game for both teams. The Engineers have now earned a victory in each of their last three season opening games.

Rensselaer got things going early as rookie forward Shannon Maguire (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) got the ball just inside the box and navigated through a pair of Spartan defenders. Gaining speed, Maguire sent a hard shot pass the goalie into the lower left corner for a 1-0 lead just 2:45 into the contest.

Junior Danielle Redmond (Barre, MA/Quabbin Regional) pushed the lead to 2-0 in the 12th minute after she corralled a cross from freshman Nicole Goodsell (Danbury, CT/Danbury) in the middle. Settling the ball, she ducked around a defender and the goalie, who had tried to pick it up.

Castleton State had several opportunities in the opening 45 minutes, but RPI goalie Jaclyn Henry (West Warwick, RI/West Warwick) made several key stops, including a point-blank shot by sophomore Kelly Gerken (Scottsville, NY/Wheatland-Chili) which she blocked out to the left of the net.

The second half of action saw the Engineers continue to dominate on defense. Capitalizing on a number of Spartans' fouls, RPI was able to establish ball control throughout the majority of the half.

In the 53rd minute, senior Heather Lautman (Reading, MA/Reading Memorial) made it a three-goal advantage for the home team after a cross from classmate Jessica Batty (Lexington, MA/Lexington) on the right side, landed on her feet. The Spartans' goalie came out to stop the ball on the cross but was unable to recover in time as Lautman sent it into the wide open net.

Castleton State, which was outshot 15-6 in the game, tried to put the pressure on the Engineers late in the game, but Henry continued to make solid saves, including a point-blank shot by Gerken. She finished with four saves in the game.

For the Spartans, junior goalie Cady Kerin (Barre, VT/Spaulding) stopped eight shots. RPI held the slight advantage in corner kicks (3-2) and had just two fouls compared to Castleton State's seven.

The Engineers return to action on Saturday when they host the two-day, four-team RPI Classic at Renwyck Field. Union College and St. Joseph College meet at 11am, followed by Rensselaer versus Plattsburgh State at 2pm. Action continues on Sunday. Castleton State is back on the pitch on Saturday and Sunday when they head to the North Country to face Clarkson and St. Lawrence, respectively.