Box Score Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Junior Afton Marshall (Windham, NH/Salem) tallied two goals and added a game-best four assists to lead the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's lacrosse team to a 13-7 victory over Western New England College. It was the season opener for both teams, which saw six different players score for the Engineers.

The Engineers got things going first as sophomore Emma Albert (Baldwinsville, NY/CW Baker) scored a free position tally at 18:17. Western New England surged ahead minutes later as sophomore Katie Toomy (Northborough, MA/Algonquin) netted back-to-back goals, but RPI countered with four straight goals, including two from freshman Alissa Peterson (Gaithersburg, MD/Quince Orchard) to take a 5-2 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Rensselaer once again found the back of the net quickly as junior Stephanie Caouette (Wynantskill, NY/Columbia) and freshman Shannon Maguire (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) scored less than six minutes in. The Golden Bears countered as junior Jeanmarie Barbato (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) scored at 23:40 on a free position shot and assisted on Lindsey Fenton's (Pelham, MA/Amherst Regional) tally just 38 seconds later to make it a 7-4 game with 23:02 remaining.

The teams then traded goals to make it 8-5, but RPI grabbed the momentum over the next five minutes, scoring five straight goals for a 13-7 lead with 10:41 remaining. Western New England challenged late in the half, tallying a pair of goals in the final four minutes, but could not get any closer as RPI senior goalie Arianna Hood (Severn, MD/Old Mill) held strong.

In addition to Marshall, Peterson recorded a game-best four goals for the Engineers and also added an assist. Caouette added two goals and an assist, while Albert and Maguire each had a pair of goals. Senior captain Sam Fennessey (Gansevoort, NY/Saratoga Springs) also scored for RPI, which was backed by an 11-save performance in goal by Hood.

For Western New England, Toomy had three goals, while Fenton added two tallies. Barbato had a goal and an assist as well for the Golden Bears, who saw junior Marissa Bonitatibus (Yorktown Heights, NY/Yorktown) make nine saves in the loss.

Rensselaer is back in action on Tuesday for the first of two spring trip games in Florida. The Engineers will face Wesleyan at 4pm in West Palm Beach, before taking on Simmons on March 12, also in West Palm Beach (11am). Western New England is back on the field on Thursday with a 4pm home game against Springfield.