TROY, NY – Led by three goals and two assists from sophomore Melissa Hine, the #14 Union College women's lacrosse team defeated Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 12-8 on Friday.  The Dutchwomen improve to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play, while the Red Hawks drop to 3-5 and 0-3 in the Liberty League.
 
Holding a 7-6 lead after the first 30 minutes of play, RPI saw its advantage sway back and forth as Union tied things up at 7-all on a free position goal by Keelin Skurek at 23:54.  Rookie Madeline Sisson (Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) gave the homestanding Red Hawks the advantage once more and the teams traded goals for an 8-8 tie with 17:23 left in the contest.

Hine, who scored the tying goal of the game for the Dutchwomen, put her team ahead less than four minutes later and Union never relinquished the lead.  Goals by junior Allie Cuozzo and sophomore Kristin Joyce over the final twelve minutes of the contest sealed the 12-8 final margin.

It was a back and forth battle to open the game as the two teams combined for 13 goals.  Union took the early advantage and held a 2-1 lead with 21:33 remaining before the Rensselaer fired off five straight goals for a 6-2 lead with 10 minutes left in the stanza. 

Union found the momentum it needed after back-to-back goals by Jill LaForest made it 6-4 in favor of RPI with 6:55 left.  After another tally by Sisson, the Dutchwomen posted three straight goals to trail 7-6 at the end of the first half.

In addition to Hine, Union saw Joyce add three goals and an assist. Cuozzo and LaForest each finished with two goals while netminder Cat Ruggiero picked up the victory with three saves.

For Rensselaer, Sisson posted two goals and an assist while Stephanie Caouette (Wynantskill, NY) had a pair of tallies.  Sophomore Afton Marshall (Windham, NH) had a goal and two assists and junior Sam Fennessey (Gansevoort, NY) rounded out the scoring wth a goal and an assist.  In goal, junior Ariana Hood (Severn, MD) posted 10 saves in the loss.

The Dutchwomen head to Poughkeepsie to take on Vassar Saturday at 2 p.m.

Box Score