TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) field hockey team was defeated by Liberty League rival Union College in a thrilling 3-2 contest on this afternoon on Harkness Field.

Union scored the decisive goal with under five minutes to play, as the Garnet Chargers converted off a corner when Rowan Dapson redirected a pass from Maddie Greco to the back of the cage.

The visitors struck first just over six minutes in, capitalizing on a fast start when Amy Vytopilova gave Union a 1-0 lead. RPI responded midway through the second quarter as Lindsay Dunbar set up a finish from Sophia Brown to even the margin at 1-1. Union regained the advantage in the seven minutes later after Maggie Monaghan tallied off an assist from Ellie Innes, sending the visitors into the halftime break with a 2-1 edge.

The Engineers controlled much of the action in the third and fourth quarters, outshooting Union 9-2 in the second half and generating four penalty corners, but struggled to capitalize until Katie Galgay broke through with less than two minutes remaining in the third to level the contest once more.

The Engineers registered five saves in total from goalkeeper Tess Garchinsky, including key stops late in the fourth, but were ultimately undone on Union's sixth corner opportunity of the game. Sophia Brown led RPI with a game-high seven shots, including three on goal, while becoming the second player in the Liberty League to reach 10 goals this fall. Galgay's equalizer was her third of the year, while Dunbar tallied her second assist of the season.

RPI will hit the road for its net two games, beginning with a 1:00 pm tilt at St. Lawrence on Saturday afternoon.