ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The RPI women's soccer team suffered its first loss of the 2026 season this afternoon, falling 2-1 to RIT in the Engineers' Liberty League opener at Judson Stadium.
Sophia Byron broke a scoreless tie in the 80th minute, but the Tigers answered with two goals over the ensuing four minutes to rally for the victory.
The Engineers generated several opportunities during an evenly played opening half. Byron recorded RPI's first attempt in the 18th minute before
Ava Davey and
Isabelle Gelzhiser added chances later in the period. At the opposite end,
Ava Gaboury stopped both shots she faced, including efforts from Sarah Tawaf and Eli Gonzalez, to send the teams into halftime scoreless.
RIT increased the pressure early in the second half, forcing
Hanna Pihu into a pair of saves within the opening five minutes. The Tigers continued to threaten as Lindsay Ford struck the crossbar in the 56th minute before Pihu turned aside another attempt from Valeria Luzio moments later.
RPI responded with a dangerous stretch of its own. Byron put an attempt on goal in the 58th minute before
Bethany Kim followed with another opportunity. Davey later forced RIT goalkeeper Ashton Anderson into a save in the 71st minute as the Engineers continued searching for the opening tally.
The breakthrough came in the 80th minute when Byron finished a setup from Kim and
Micaela Ross to give the Engineers a 1-0 advantage. The goal was Byron's third of the season and marked her second straight contest with a tally after also scoring against SUNY Potsdam earlier this month.
RIT responded quickly, however. Elliot McSkimin equalized less than two minutes later off a feed from Luzio, and Ford followed with the go-ahead goal in the 83rd minute after assists from McSkimin and Bella Coccio. RPI continued to press in the closing minutes, with
Delaney McMorris and
Elsa Ryan each registering late attempts, but the Tigers held on for the 2-1 decision.
Byron led the Engineers with three shots, including two on goal, while Davey recorded two attempts and one on target. McMorris, Kim, Ryan, and Gelzhiser each added one shot. RPI finished with nine total attempts and three on goal, while RIT recorded 13 shots, eight on target, and held a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks. The loss snapped RPI's season-opening seven-game unbeaten streak.
