TROY, N.Y. – Junior Aleena Milinski made 15 saves and was aided by nine different goal scorers as the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's lacrosse team defeated Clarkson, 10-7, in the Liberty League Quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon at Renwyck Field. With the win, the Engineers improve to 9-5-1 and advance to the take on top-seeded William Smith on Saturday (11:30am). The Golden Knights conclude their season at 12-6.

Milinski (Beaver Falls, PA/Blackhawk) was locked in from the get-go, turning away the first four she faced, including one just 30 seconds into the game.

Clarkson sophomore Aubrey Borgesi (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) broke through at 7:58 of the opening stanza with her 19th goal of the season, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Senior Morgan Doyle (Syracuse, NY/Corcoran) then buried a feed from behind the net by junior Lauren Guiry (Danbury, CT/Danbury) four minutes later to knot things up at 1-1.

Guiry gave RPI the lead at 13:01 of the half, slipping around a screen from classmate Erin Goodwin (Kensington, CT/Berlin) to pot her 15th goal of the year. Tallies from fellow junior Maddie Aslansan (Philadelphia, PA/Springside Chestnut Hill Academy) and sophomore Shyla Niemann (Saint James, NY/Smithtown East) pushed the RPI advantage to 4-1 just before halftime.

The Engineers took their three-goal lead to the break, despite being outshot 14-12 and outdrawn, 4-2.

Sophomore Katie Sergeant (Ontario, NY/Out Lady of Mercy) collected her first of two on the day to open the scoring in the second half, firing a free-position shot just under the crossbar to cut the deficit to 4-2.

Doyle answered with a man-up tally, sneaking a free-position shot of her own inside the left post for her second of the game and 19th of the season. Junior Michelle Bolger (Williston, VT/Rice Memorial) made it 6-2 with her 22nd goal of the year just over a minute later.

After a pair of point-blank stops from Milinki, Sergeant was able to squeeze a tight-angle free-position attempt home to draw within 6-3, with 17:21 to play.

A mini 2-0 run provided by freshman Nora Molino (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) and junior Abbey Salvon (Longmeadow, MA/Longmeadow) gave the hosts some breathing room at 8-3, but Clarkson came storming back with tallies by sophomores Abby Collins (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) and Emma Andrews (Mexico, NY/Mexico Academy) to make it 8-5.

Less than a minute later, RPI senior Allie Claroni (Reading, MA/Reading Memorial) was able to fight off a double-team and score under the bar for her 17th goal of the season and give the Engineers a 9-5 lead.

Sergeant then found Collins cutting to the front of the net to draw within 9-6 with 11:38 remaining. The Engineers were able to run off nearly five minutes of clock before Sergeant stuck home her third goal of the game, cutting the deficit to 9-7.

Molino nearly put the Engineers back up three right off the ensuing draw, but found the post. Andrews saw her chance at the other end bound just wide left of the post with 4:11 to go.

RPI held the Golden Knights to just one shot the rest of the way, while sophomore Nicole Zimmer (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango) capped the scoring with 1:55 left, ducking inside a check and firing low for her second goal of the campaign.

Milinski (9-5-1) made seven saves in the first half and eight in the second to help RPI hold on for the win. Clarkson junior Samantha Gladd (Rensselaer, NY/Columbia) had 12 stops at the other end of the field, with seven coming in the second half.

The Engineers are now 7-0 all-time at home in Liberty League tournament play.