TROY, N.Y. – Powered by five first half goals, including two from junior Alissa Peterson, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) field hockey team defeated St. John Fisher, 5-3 in non-conference action at Harkness Field. The Engineers move to 3-2 on the season, while the Cardinals fall to 1-5.

The Engineers opened the scoring quickly, grabbing a 1-0 lead just 58 seconds into the contest on a rebound tally from rookie Liana Viaggio (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac). Scrambling in front, Viaggio found the loose ball of a shot from sophomore Kierstan Ryan (Levittown, PA/Harry S. Truman) and banged it in.

Peterson (Gaithersburg, MD/Quince Orchard) pushed Rensselaer's advantage to 3-0 soon after, notching a pair of tallies before the 10-minute mark. Her first goal came directly off a corner from sophomore Sarah Krolus (Westminster, MD/Garrison Forest School), as she settled the ball near the top of the arc and fired it in.

She then made it 3-0 at 9:25 after she carried the ball down field and fired a bullet shot from the top of the arc, which slid past Cardinals keeper Kellie Redmond (Port Byron, NY/Dana L. West) into the right corner of the box.

Rensselaer continued to pressure in the offensive zone and capitalized at the 14:23 mark as junior Tori Elliott (Hampstead, NH/Pinkerton Academy) corralled the ball at the top of the arc and sent it in through traffic past Redmond.

The Cardinals answered less than four minutes later as rookie Marissa Vedella (Elma, NY/Iroquois) found the rebound of a Taylor Parker (East Rochester, NY/East Rochester) shot and snuck it past the reach of RPI goalie Briana Earle (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) at 17:49.

Senior Julie Campbell (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel Area), who found the rebound of an Elliott shot from 15-yards out on the right side, made it a 5-1 advantage at the half.

St. John Fisher came out with renewed energy in the second half and quickly cut the gap to three (5-2) as rookie Caitlin Allen (Rochester, NY/Irondequoit) found the loose ball through a scramble in front and sent it past a diving Earle at 49:29.

The Cardinals would find their way back onto the scoreboard at 62:57 as Alexis Zakala (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) blasted a shot from the top of the arc, which sailed past rookie netminder Hannah Clough (Acton, MA/Acton-Boxborough Regional) to make it a 5-3 game.

In the end, the Engineers defense proved too much as the home team held on for the victory behind 35 shots, including 15 on goal. Rensselaer held the Cardinals to 11 shots in the contest and just six on goal, while also holding the edge in penalty corners, 15-6.

In goal, Earle stopped two shots for the Engineers through 56:00 played, while Clough stopped one shot in relief. For St. John Fisher, Redmond made eight saves, while two players recorded defensive stops.

Rensselaer is back on the field on Saturday, hosting league-rival Union on Harkness Field (2pm). St. John Fisher is also in action on Saturday, traveling to Empire-8 rival Stevens Institute of Technology (2pm).