ITHACA, N.Y. — In a tightly contested Liberty League matchup on the road, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) field hockey team fell 2-1 in overtime to No. 25 Ithaca College this afternoon at Higgins Stadium. The Engineers opened the scoring early and held a lead for over 55 minutes before the nationally ranked Bombers rallied late to force extra time and ultimately claim the victory.
RPI wasted no time getting on the board despite being down a player due to a green card in the third minute. Just under five minutes into the first quarter,
Sophia Brown capitalized on a rebound opportunity to put the Engineers ahead 1-0. The goal was Brown's team-leading ninth tally of the season
.
The Engineers held strong through the remainder of the first half thanks to a composed defensive effort and standout play in goal from
Tess Garchinsky, who turned away multiple Ithaca attempts to preserve the lead. Brown was especially active on the offensive end, finishing the contest with five shots, four of which were on target.
In the second and third quarters, RPI faced sustained pressure but managed to hold off Ithaca's advances. The Engineers produced multiple penalty corner chances, including five in the third quarter alone. A key opportunity came in the fourth quarter when RPI earned a penalty stroke, but the attempt was saved by Ithaca goalkeeper Maeve Clark, keeping it a one-goal game.
The Bombers finally broke through in the 57th minute when Eliza Ballaro converted off a penalty corner, assisted by Brenna Schoenfeld, to knot the score at 1-1. Just over five minutes later, in sudden death overtime, the roles reversed as Schoenfeld scored the game-winner off another corner, this time assisted by Ballaro, completing Ithaca's comeback victory .
RPI matched the Bombers in shots on goal (11 each) and had a 10-9 edge in penalty corners. Brown led all players in total shots, while
Grace Johnson and
Ella Pasquarelli added multiple efforts toward goal.
RPI returns to action on Wednesday at 4pm. when the Engineers host Union in another key Liberty League matchup at Harkness Field.
