Box Score Box Score

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) field hockey team tallied a goal in each half to defeat the University of Rochester, 2-1 in Liberty League play on Friday.  With the victory, the Engineers have now won each of their last three conference games, improving to 3-1 in the Liberty League and 6-3 on the season.  The Yellowjackets are now 8-5 overall and 0-3 in conference play.

The Engineers grabbed the first lead of the game as sophomore Kelsey Porter (Quechee, VT/Hartford) scored at 24:04.  Collecting a long pass from the left sideline by junior Holly Dupuis (Brookfield, MA/Worcester Academy), Porter jammed it in on the right side past sophomore keeper Madison Wagner (Cheswick, PA/Fox Chapel).

Rensselaer continued to hold the advantage into the second stanza, capitalizing just under three minutes into the frame as rookie Liana Viaggio (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac).   Weaving through traffic down the center of the box, Viaggio fired the ball past Wagner for a 2-0 advantage at the 38:33 mark.

The homestanding Yellowjackets cut the deficit to one at 49:44 as freshman Megan Keil (Syracuse, NY/Camden) scored off a pass from Alexis Vangellow (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Mendon) beyond the reach of RPI netminder Briana Earle (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker). 

The Engineers looked to get back the goal late in the game as they attacked the Rochester end in the final three minutes of the game.  RPI fired four straight shots on net in a 1-minute span, but Wagner held tough down the stretch.

Rensselaer finished with a 14-9 advantage in shots, including a commanding 13-6 edge in shots on goal.  Earle made five saves in the Engineers goal, while Wagner stopped 11 shots for the Yellowjackets.

Both teams return to play on Saturday as RPI heads to Geneva, N.Y., for a 2pm match at #17 William Smith.  Rochester hosts Vassar, also at 2pm.