LEAGUE OPENER: Rensselaer hosts Skidmore College on Saturday in the Liberty League opener for both teams. Opening draw at Renwyck Field is set for 1pm. 

RPI EDGED BY FIFTH-RANKED COLBY: Emilie Klein scored with just 11 seconds left in regulation to lift fifth-ranked Colby to a 9-8 victory over Rensselaer, on Monday ...
Klein's second goal of the half, which proved to be the game-winner, came 1:19 after Erin DeLucca tied the game at 8-8 for RPI ... The Engineers jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, 14:32 into the first half ... Sophie Hager got the scoring started 3:36 into the opening stanza ... Less than four minutes later, Jamie Wakefield made it 2-0 ... Junior Mackenzie O'Neil then took a feed from Meg Colitz to bag her fifth of the year ... DeLucca netted her first of the game from Erin Riley ... Both teams then traded goals over the final 12:32 of the first half, with the Mules tallying 2:07 before the break to make it 6-3 at halftime ... Colby picked up its play at the offensive end in the second stanza, scoring six of the first seven goals ... Abby Hooper had two of those markers, including one that put the Mules up 8-7, with 6:41 remaining ... Six different Engineers recorded points, including Colitz and DeLucca, who had two goals and an assist each ... RPI netminder Erin Amarello made four saves, while Colby goalie Claire Dickson finished with five at the other end of the field.  

FOLLOW THE ACTION: Live statistics for Saturday's action – and all Rensselaer home games – can be followed at http://www.sidearmstats.com/rpi/wlax.

WATCH ONLINE: All home games can be seen live at www.rpiathletics.com/watch/wlax. 

RPI LEADERS: Sophomore Sophie Hager leads the Engineers with 21 points on six goals and a team-best 15 assists ... Graduate student Meg Colitz (14 goals, 2 assists) is second with 16 points, while Erin Riley (11 goals, 4 assists) rounds out the top three scorers with 15 points ... Senior Jamie Wakefield (5 goals, 1 assist) leads the club with 13 ground balls, while classmate Lydia Wolter has a team-high seven caused turnovers.

RPI GOALTENDING: Senior captain Erin Amarello (2-3) has a 10.76 goals against average and a .420 save percentage as the starter in all five games this season.

PACING THE THOROUGHBREDS: Skidmore is led offensively by sophomore Tyler Phillips, who has 24 goals and four assists for 28 points ... She is followed by senior Spencer Morgan (17 goals, 3 assists) with 20 points and junior Emma Harris (11 goals, 3 assists) with 14 ... Between the sticks, sophomore Megan Kolopsky (5-2) has started all seven games, carrying a 8.86 goals against average and a .446 save percentage.

2014 VS. SKIDMORE: Despite a second-half surge from the homestanding Thoroughbreds, the Engineers were able to hold on for a 15-14 victory on April 19, 2014 ... RPI scored five of the first seven goals of the game to take an early three-goal lead (5-2) ... Meg Colitz and Michelle Denny each tallied twice during the run ...  A Tyler Phillips goal late in the first half brought Skidmore to within 8-6 at the break ... After Erin Riley opened the second stanza with a goal, Colitz bagged two more to give the visitors from Troy an 11-6 edge ... Skidmore then scored four of five to draw within 12-10 ... Rachel Scofield ended the run with 10:13 remaining to make it 13-10 ... Markers from Spencer Morgan and Brittney Dioneda quickly made it a one-goal game (13-12) with 9:15 left, but Colitz and Scofield had the answer, providing just enough cushion to secure the win ... Colitz finished with a team-high six points on five goals and an assist ... Scofield had three goals and a helper ... Erin Amarello finished with seven saves.

THREE-PEAT: The Engineers went a perfect 9-0 in the Liberty League last season, winning their third straight conference title ... RPI went on to defeat Union, 15-8, in the Liberty League Championship game to earn its third consecutive tournament title ... Rensselaer earned a bye into the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, where it fell to Fredonia, 9-8, on a late goal.

RPI IN LEAGUE PLAY: The Engineers have won 11 consecutive Liberty League contests, dating back to 2013 ... Since the start of the 2010 season, Rensselaer is 36-7 in regular season conference games, including 18-3 at Renwyck Field ... The Engineers last home league loss came on April 13, 2012 – a 10-9 defeat to Union.

THE CAPTAINS: Graduate student Meg Colitz and senior Erin Amarello are in their second seasons as captains of the Engineers ... They are joined in 2015 by senior Lydia Wolter and junior Sara Bischof.

BY POSITION: The Engineers roster consists of four attackers, seven midfielders, five defenders, two goaltenders and two players that play multiple positions.

BY CLASS: The team is made up of one graduate student, five seniors, six juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen.

RENSSELAER'S COACHES: The Engineers are led by 13th-year head coach Leslie DeLano ... She is a 2000 graduate of William Smith College ... DeLano is assisted by Mackenzie Riegel.

UPCOMING ACTION: Rensselaer is back in action next Friday, when it hosts Vassar on Renwyck Field (4pm) ... The game can be seen live on RPI TV, or online at www.rpitv.org.