TROY, N.Y. – Aided by a three-goal second half, including a pair of tallies by junior midfield Holly Dupuis, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) field hockey team defeated Union College, 4-2 in Liberty League action at Harkness Field. With the victory, the Engineers move to 4-2 overall with a 1-1 conference mark, while the Dutchwomen slip to 0-6 and are now 0-2 in the Liberty League.

Holding a 1-0 lead after a first half tally by senior Erika Hawksley (Windsor, ME/Erskine Academy), the Engineers powered into the second stanza with strong pressure. Dupuis (Brookfield, MA/Worcester Academy) got things started at 43:32 after she deflected in a Hawksley shot to the left of the goal mouth.

It was Dupuis again just over six minutes later as she collected a great pass from sophomore Kierstan Ryan (Levittown, PA/Harry S. Truman) and banged it in on the open left side for the 3-0 advantage at 49:49. Rensselaer again wasted little time in adding to its lead as senior Julie Campell (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel Area) notched her second of the season at 52:19.

Campbell was set up on the play by a hard shot from the left side by rookie Liana Viaggio (Mahopac, NY/Mahopac). The ball carried into the middle just in front of the goal mouth and Campbell was able to get her stick on the loose ball, causing it to trickle in past Union keeper Mary McCune (Arlington, MA/Arlington).

Despite the advantage, the Engineers were unable to keep the Dutchwomen at bay as they rallied just under two minutes following the Campbell goal to get their first tally. Off a penalty corner, sophomore Nicole Merigliano (Larchmont, NY/Mamaroneck) fired the ball toward the top of the arc to junior Caroline Moran (Unionville, PA/Westminster School). Settling it briefly, Moran fired it through traffic for the score at 54:10.

Union was able to close the gap to two at the 67:07 mark as sophomore Ali Flake (Vineyard Haven, MA/St. Mark's School) blasted one in at the left post off a feed from Moran at the top of the arc. The goal came off Flake's own penalty corner as she had originally passed it to Moran.

The Engineers were able to hold off the Dutchwomen down the stretch, securing their first league win of the year. The final goalie numbers saw RPI's Briana Earle (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) stop six shots to move to 4-2 on the season. Her counterpart, McCune made seven stops and is now 0-5.

Rensselaer is back in action on Wednesday as it hosts Vassar at Harkness Field for a 4:30pm tilt. Union returns to the field on Tuesday in a 4pm match-up at Castleton State.