Box Score Box Score / Senior Day Gallery

TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's lacrosse team jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first half and tacked on six more in the final 30 minutes enroute to a 15-8 victory over the University of Rochester on Saturday. With the win on Senior Day, the Engineers close out the regular season with an 8-5 record, including a 5-3 mark in the Liberty League. The Yellowjackets fall to 2-14 and 1-7 in their season finale.

The Engineers jumped out to the early lead as senior Whitney Kukol (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City) scored just 34 seconds in. Rochester tied things up at 25:06 as junior Charlotte Clements (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Sutherland) found the back of the net, but Rensselaer quickly found a rhythm.

RPI scored three straight goals, including Kukol's second of the game for a 4-1 lead with 19:59 left in the contest. Junior Chelsea Audin (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury) cut the Yellowjackets deficit to two (4-2), but the home team once again went on a run with five straight goals for a 9-2 advantage. Junior Afton Marshall (Windham, NH/Salem) led the charge for the Engineers in the final stretch, scoring two goals while assisting on another.

In the second half, the Engineers once again struck quickly with two goals in the first four minutes of the stanza off the stick of freshman Alissa Peterson (Gaithersburg, MD/Quince Orchard). Sophomore Niki Holmes (New Woodstock, NY/Cazenovia) pulled the Yellowjackets to within eight (11-3) with 24:14 and the team's traded goals until the 13:30 mark when Rochester notched back-to-back tallies to close the gap to 13-6 with 8:39 left to play.

Despite a pair of goals through the final seven minutes of the contest, including two from senior Danielle Mondro (Concord, NH/Bishop Brady), the Yellowjackets could not overcome the RPI offense, which saw senior Sam Fennessey (Gansevoort, NY/Saratoga Springs) add a pair of her own to close out the scoring.

Marshall led all game scorers with four goals and added a pair of assists in the win. Peterson had three goals and an assist, while Fennessey added two goals and an assist. Stephanie Caouette (Wynantskill, NY/Columbia) and Shannon Maguire (Randolph, NJ/Randolph) rounded out the efforts with a goal and two assists apiece.

In goal, senior Ariana Hood (Severn, MD/Old Mill) improved to 8-5 on the season, stopping four shots in 33:56 of work. Freshman Allie Arnal (Lakewood, NY/Phillips Exeter Academy) played the first 26:04 of the second half, making three saves.

For Rochester, Mondro led the team with two goals, while Audin had a goal and an assist. Five other players recorded a goal for the Yellowjackets. Rookie Frances Cooley (Cleveland Heights, OH/Hawken School) shouldered the loss in net, making five saves on the day.

Rensselaer returns to action on Friday, making its first-ever appearance in the Liberty League Semifinals. The Engineers secured the fourth-seed in the playoffs and will face the top-seed. The location and opponent for Friday's game will be determined based on the winner of today's Hamilton/Union match (4pm).