Courtesy of Drue Sokol
The women’s lacrosse team was trounced by two top-flight foes in Skidmore College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) on Friday, March 30, and Saturday, March 31, respectively. Both games were home contests for the Yellowjackets.
The ’Jackets hung tough through much of the first half against undefeated RPI, which is the top-ranked team in the Liberty League (6-0, 2-0). Despite the strength of their opponent, UR kept the score tied at 2-2 until RPI midfielder Marissa Page broke the stalemate midway through the half with two goals roughly a minute apart. RPI midfielder Madeline Sisson tacked on another goal before halftime, and the RPI Engineers carried a 5-2 lead into the break.
RPI certainly transferred that momentum into the second half, scoring six of the first seven goals of the half as their lead ballooned to 11-3. The Engineers added three more goals to their tally — including a third for Page to give her the hat trick — before the final whistle, and the RPI women left Fauver Stadium with a 14-4 victory.
The game was not without bright spots for UR — they did force more turnovers than the Engineers, and junior midfielder Liza Mazel had a strong showing with two goals — but the Yellowjackets simply appeared overpowered by the RPI offense.
The situation was similar on Saturday, when UR fell to Skidmore College, 13-5. In contrast to the highly balanced attack the Yellowjackets faced in RPI, Thoroughbreds attacker Lexi Melville outscored the entire UR squad on her own, chalking up six goals and an assist.
UR’s freshman goaltender Maddie Elia had a solid game with 12 saves, and Maizel once again led the ’Jackets with two goals.
None of UR’s scoring in the game came on assisted goals, however. In fact, offensive continuity was suspect for the Yellowjackets in both contests — UR had only one assist between the two games, while their opponents had a combined nine.
The women’s competition will be somewhat less steep this Friday, April 4, and Saturday, April 5, when they face off against two other schools without a Liberty League victory this year — Bard College and Vassar College.
Fleming is a member of the class of 2013.
