NEWBURGH, N.Y. – Senior Erin Barnes scored two first half goals to lead the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's soccer team to a 4-0 victory over Mount Saint Mary College, on Wednesday night at Kaplan Field. With the win, the Engineers improve to 2-1-2, while the Knights drop to 1-2-1.

RPI struck early in the first half, when Barnes took down a long ball from classmate Whitney Wisnom and rifled home the first of her two goals on the night. The tally came in just the second minute of play.

Wisnom nearly doubled the lead in the 24th minute, but her shot from the left side sailed over the bar, after she had beaten her defender off the dribble.

Barnes made it a brace in the 29th minute, corralling the ball at the top of the penalty area and drilling a shot, just under the crossbar, for her second of the night and third of her career.

The Engineers took their 2-0 advantage to the break, along with a 5-1 shot edge.

RPI hit the woodwork twice in the first seven minutes of the second half, with junior Ali Bisaccia drilling the middle of the crossbar from 25 years out in the 50th minute, before Wisnom saw her attempt from the right tipped off the bar by Knights goalie Christina Kakavas in the 52nd.

Not to be denied, Bisaccia headed home a corner from classmate Emma Skantze to make it a 3-0 lead for the visitors in the 53rd minute. Bisaccia leaped to meet the cross from the left side and smashed in her first career goal.

Rensselaer continued to press and eventually netted a fourth goal, when junior Rhea Banerjee slipped a well-weighted through ball behind the Mount Saint Mary defense and classmate Olivia Spector ran onto and lifted a shot into the left side of the net for her first of the year and second of her career.

Freshman Sierra Skelding (2-1-2) and sophomore Maya Kessler split the 90 minutes in goal for the Engineers, with Kessler making the save necessary between the two, in the second half. Caroline Brucato (1-2-1) had one save in the first half, before Kakavas had one in the second for the Knights.

RPI returns to action on Saturday, when it opens its Liberty League schedule against No. 21 St. Lawrence at East Campus Stadium (3pm). Mount Saint Mary visits Hartwick on Sunday (3pm).