Box Score Box Score | @RPIAthletics

TROY, N.Y. - Sophomore Jena Nawfel had a goal and three assists and senior Angela Cascio scored twice to lead the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) field hockey team to a 5-1 victory over Union College in a Liberty League contest at Harkness Field. The Engineers improve to 8-5 overall and 3-2 in the Liberty League, moving into third place in the conference standings. The Dutchwomen fall to 5-9 and 0-5.

Nawfel (Waterville, ME / Waterville) had the game's first goal and then set up Cascio (Wyndmoor, PA / Springside School) off a penalty corner for a 2-0 lead. The Engineers had the next two goals for a 4-0 lead before Union got on the board with a penalty corner goal by senior Laura Pacheco (Blue Bell, PA / Mount Saint Joseph Academy) at the end of the half. Cascio and Nawfel connected for the second time in the game early in the second half for a 5-1 lead.

RPI finished with a 30-7 edge in shots and an 18-4 advantage in penalty corners. Rachel Kaufman (Morristown, NJ / Morristown) and Kayla Bell (Winchester, MA / Winchester) combined for four saves in the win, while Laura Aptowitz (Mansfield, MA / Williston Northampton) made 12 saves on the other end.

THE STANDINGS:
With their victory today, the Engineers move into third place in the Liberty League standings, while Union remains in seventh place with a loss. The top four teams qualify for the league playoffs

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: 
With the victory, Rensselaer improved to 7-1 at home, having outscored the opposition 

BIG FIRST HALF:
The Engineers controlled play throughout the first half, holding a 17-3 advantage in shots and 11-2 in penalty corners

STRONG SECOND HALF: 
Rensselaer held a 13-4 edge in shots in the final 35 minutes, while also getting five more corners than the Dutchwomen (7-2)

BALANCED ATTACK:
The Engineers saw seven different student-athletes record shots in the first half, led by Hana Murphy and Colleen Fowler, who had four apiece

HOW THEY HAPPENED:

• Goal 1: RPI's Jena Nawfel picked up a loose ball off a rebound and slipped it into the cage; Angela Cascio started the play when her shot was saved by a sprawling Laura Aptowitz; The rebound bounced up and off a Union defender, falling to Nawfel (18:05)
• Goal 2: Cascio injected the ball on a penalty corner to Nawfel, who sent the ball back to Cascio for a redirect behind the goalkeeper, who had charged out to challenge a shot (20:33)
• Goal 3: RPI's Mikaela DiBello sent Hana Murphy on a partial break up the right side, which Murphy finished by scoring to the goalkeeper's far side (31:48)
• Goal 4: RPI's Colleen Fowler one-timed a crossing pass from Nawfel to give the home team a 4-0 lead (33:10)
• Goal 5: With time expired, Union's Laura Pacheco drilled in a pass from Rachel Andreana off a penalty corner set play (35:00)
• Goal 6: Nawfel passed to Cascio in the middle of the circle and she one-timed the ball into far side

UP NEXT: 
Rensselaer plays again on October 21 when it travels to SUNY New Paltz for a non-league game at 4pm
Union plays again on October 23 when it hosts Vassar in a Liberty League game at 4:30pm