CASTLETON, Vt. – Abby Peterson and Julie Thomas each scored for the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) field hockey team Wednesday afternoon as the Engineers fell to the Vermont State Castleton Spartans by a final score of 6-2 on the road. Castleton's Emily Harris scored five of the Spartans six goals on the evening.
 
The Spartans scored their first goal just one minute into the game, as Harris scored the first of four goals for her on the day to give Castleton a 1-0 lead. Harris struck a second time with just 96 seconds left in the first quarter to push the lead to 2-0 in favor of the Spartans.
 
In the second quarter, Peterson cut the Spartans lead back to one with her first goal of the season as she picked up a rebound off a blocked shot from Sophia Lodge. Her score was short lived, as Harris capitalized for the Spartans just over a minute later to put the lead back to two goals. The goal completed her hat trick and gave Castleton a 3-1 lead.
 
Jess Smithson capped the first half for the Spartans with her second goal of the season as she put one in with just 30 seconds to play in the half to give Castleton a 4-1 lead. Less than two minutes into the third, Harris collected her fourth of the day to bring the Spartans lead to 5-1. She collected her fifth and final tally on the day just after the eight minute mark in the second half, putting on a penalty shot for a 6-1 Spartans lead.
 
The score remained 6-1 until RPI scored five minutes into the fourth quarter, as Thomas notched her first goal of the season for the Engineers on an assist from Lauren McCarthy.
 
Emily Dubord added a pair of shots on net for RPI, while Harris finished with 12 total shots for the Spartans – with eight on net.
 
The Engineers return to action this Saturday, Sept. 16 at 11 a.m. when they play host to Russell Sage at Harkness Field.