TROY, N.Y. – Sophomore Christine Kemp (Putnam Valley, NY) converted a rebound shot in the 66th minute and the #18 Skidmore College field hockey team held on for a 2-1 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Liberty League action on Saturday. With the win, the Thoroughbreds improve to 10-3 overall and 5-1 in conference play while the Red Hawks drop to 8-7 and 3-3 in the Liberty League.
Skidmore is now in sole possession of first place in the conference barring the outcome of this afternoon's game between St. Lawrence (4-1 LL) and William Smith (3-2 LL). RPI now needs a win against Union in the Liberty League season finale tomorrow afternoon to keep its playoff hopes alive.
Holding a 1-0 lead after the first half of play, the Red Hawks saw their lead vanish as junior Sheray Michel (Schuylerville, NY) found the ball off the stick of sophomore Lauren McCarthy (Ipswich, MA) and pushed it into the left side of the box past RPI goalie Sarah Burcher (Lanexa, VA/Maggie L. Walker's Governor's School) in the 55th minute.
Kemp pushed the Thoroughbreds ahead after converting on a 3-on-2 opportunity for Skidmore. Pushing the ball down the field, Kemp passed it over to Michel, whose shot was saved by Burcher. Unable to handle the rebound, the ball popped out to Kemp, who lifted it over the reach of the Red Hawks keeper.
Despite a dominant first half effort by the visiting Thoroughbreds, Rensselaer struck first with a tally in the 14th minute by senior co-captain Sara Stylinski (Southington, CT/Southington). Handling the ball at the top of the arc, Stylinski ducked around a Skidmore defender and sent a shot from 8-yards out through traffic and in for the goal.
Skidmore, which outshot RPI, 15-3, and held a 12-2 edge on corners, had a number of solid opportunities, including a close-range shot by sophomore Christine Kemp (Putnam Valley, NY), but the Red Hawks defense came up strong behind a solid seven-save effort by Burcher.
Sophomore Liz Catinella (Sudbury, MA), improved to 10-3 on the season after stopping four shots on the day. Burcher falls to 1-1 on the season and made nine saves.
The Thoroughbreds outshot the Red Hawks, 22-10, in the game and held a 15-8 edge in corners.
