X

Engineers field hockey team downs Saints in Overtime, 2-1

Posted 10/15/11

Rensselaer rookie Liana Viaggio deflected a long-range shot by Alisa Peterson into the upper half of the cage just 3:53 into overtime, giving the Engineers a 2-1 Liberty League victory over the St. …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Engineers field hockey team downs Saints in Overtime, 2-1

Posted

Rensselaer rookie Liana Viaggio deflected a long-range shot by Alisa Peterson into the upper half of the cage just 3:53 into overtime, giving the Engineers a 2-1 Liberty League victory over the St. Lawrence University field hockey team in Troy, NY.

The loss drops the Scarlet and Brown to 7-6 (1-3) on the season, while Rensselaer improves to 7-4 (4-2) and locked up third place in the conference standings. The Saints remain in contention for the fourth and final playoff spot with conference games against Vassar and Union remaining.

Rensselaer, which had lost 13 straight meetings to St. Lawrence, held a 24-6 advantage in shots and a 12-7 edge in penalty corners.

Though St. Lawrence struggled to produce many offensive tries on RPI goalie Brianna Earle, the Saints managed to take a 1-0 lead into intermission on a goal by senior Erika Swits. The Ballston Spa, NY native buried a shot off a loose ball in front at 28:15 of the first half, with an assist going to junior Ashley Ferenczy.

Sophomore Nicole Matos continued her strong play in net for St. Lawrence on Saturday, but could not stop the Engineers from tying the game early in the second half. Sarah Krolus managed to get behind the St. Lawrence defense and score her first goal of the season on the breakaway try only 3:05 into the stanza to tie the game at 1-1.

Despite Rensselaer applying consistent pressure on the visitor's defense, the Saints were able to hang on and force the six-on-six overtime period. However, Alissa Peterson would blast a shot off a corner try towards Matos, and Viaggio was able to get a stick on it to deflect it past the goaltender for her fifth goal of the season to give RPI a dramatic 2-1 win.

Matos closed with 11 saves in the game for St. Lawrence, while Earle stopped four for Rensselaer.

St. Lawrence will head to Poughkeepsie, NY on Friday, October 21 to take on Vassar College in a game with major playoff implications. The Saints and Brewers are scheduled to start at 4:00pm.