By: Brayden Peters
BROCKPORT, NY - The Brockport Golden Eagles field hockey faced a hard battle Saturday, falling to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 4-2. The Golden Eagles were able to keep it close for the majority of the game, but two late goals by the Red Hawks secured an RPI win.
“I think when we were playing our game in the first half especially, that we have been doing everything that we’ve been practicing,” Golden Eagles head coach Krista Archambeau said. “But we kind of fell apart a little bit in the second half. And didn’t follow the gameplan, unfortunately.”
The Golden Eagles had a couple of prime opportunities to take the lead or claw back into the game. In the first quarter with 2:53 left to go, Brockport took four straight shots that were all saved by RPI’s goalie Tess Garchinsky.
Allison Greene led the way in points for Brockport, with three on the day, picking up a goal and assist. The freshman is tied for first in points in the season for Brockport.
“I mean I always knew I was going to try my best, but I think, like our team’s so incredible, so I think just being able to rely on them is just amazing,” Greene said. “Like, you can cut somewhere, and you know that you’ll either get the ball or somebody else will be there.”
Although Brockport goalie Ella Buchanan gave up four goals, she recorded nine saves in the game. She ended the day with a save percentage of .692.
RPI put pressure on Brockport’s defense early, maintaining possession in their offensive half for the first four minutes of the first quarter. The Red Hawks opened the scoring off the stick of Ria Patel, scoring on a penalty corner to give RPI a 1-0 lead.
The tables seemed to slowly turn in the second quarter, as Brockport broke the seal to tie the game up. With 5:53 left on the clock, Gianna Salerno scored on a penalty corner inside of the shooting circle. Greene and Kelsey Zehr were credited with assists on the goal.
Both teams opened the second half playing physically. A couple of times, there were collisions from opposing players as they tried to fight for possession of the ball.
With 6:34 left to go in the third quarter, the Red Hawks broke the tie. Katie Galgay buried the shot past Buchanan to give RPI a 2-1 lead.
Not even two minutes later, Brockport responded with a goal of their own. Greene drove up past the 23-meter line with defenders chasing her and she scored to tie the game up. Sophia Jones was given the assist.
RPI got the lead back early in the fourth quarter. After applying a lot of offensive pressure, Kushi Saini buried the ball to the right of Buchanan, giving the Red Hawks a 3-2 lead.
The scoring didn’t stop there for the Red Hawks, as Sophia Brown added onto the lead with a goal of her own. RPI’s two-goal lead was the largest that any team had in the entire game. Brockport was unable to cut into RPI’s lead, securing the win for the Red Hawks.
Brockport drops to a 2-2 record on the year. They will look to bounce back when they host the Morrisville Mustangs Sunday at 1 p.m.
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