POTSDAM, NY – Freshman forward
Monique Polanco (Merrick, NY/John F. Kennedy) scored her first collegiate points to lift the No. 15 RIT women's soccer team (9-1-2, 3-0-1 Liberty League) to a 2-1 win over Clarkson (7-4-1, 0-3-1 Liberty League) on a picturesque fall Saturday afternoon at Hantz Turf Field.
Polanco tallied her first collegiate goal and assist, while
Anka Parzych (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) scored the game-winner in the 29th minute to provide RIT's offense. Emily Loecher scored on a corner kick for the Golden Knights in the 82nd minute.
In goal, the duo of
Sienna Fisher (Lewisburg, PA/Lewisburg Area) and
Kelly Rogers (Ardmore, PA/Haverford) combined for the win. Fisher made two saves in the first half, while Rogers equaled that in the second half. Fisher was awarded the victory.
Shots were 15-9 in favor of RIT. Both teams took five corner kicks. Clarkson goaltender Anna Demasi made six saves in defeat. Demasi was one of four Clarkson seniors honored before the game.
"It is always good to come up to a tough place to play and get three big conference points," said RIT head coach
Liz Masterson. "I thought we had a lot of contributions from several different forwards and were able to control play when we needed to."
Nine minutes in,
Emily Thiel (Seattle, WA/Roosevelt) made a run towards the goal and fired a shot that was smothered by Demasi. Moments later Caitlin Swanson of Clarkson had a great look at the goal from the box, but fired her shot over the cage. In the 23rd minute, great work in the midfield led to a quality chance by
Elizabeth May (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Sutherland) that was stopped.
RIT got on the board first in the 29th minute, as Polanco intercepted a pass in the midfield and sent a quick pass downfield to Parzych, who got behind the Clarkson defense. Parzych was able to go in 1-on-1 and slip a shot past Demasi for her team-leading fifth goal of the season to make it a 1-0 game.
Fisher made a huge save with seven minutes in the half to preserve the 1-0 lead for RIT, robbing Aubrey Harris from the doorstep on a scramble off a corner kick.
In the 65th minute, Rogers had to come up big, coming out to cut off the angle on a dangerous opportunity by Lauren Flynn, who got behind the RIT defense down the right flank.
Polanco scored the insurance goal for the Tigers in the 68th minute, intercepting a centering pass deep in the Clarkson zone, sprinting in and slipping a shot past Demasi on a breakaway for her first collegiate goal.
RIT would need that goal, as Loecher would bend in a corner kick from the left around the defense and just inside the right post to make it a 2-1 lead. A Tiger defender was on the goal line and kicked the ball out, but was ruled she was inside the net.
It was just the third goal RIT has allowed all season. The Tigers are out-scoring their opponents, 27-3 in 2015.
The Tigers are now 22-6-2 all-time against the Golden Knights. RIT is riding a four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1) and is off to its best 12-game start in program history.
RIT is back in action on Sunday, as they host Ithaca from Tiger Stadium, starting at 12 p.m. The Tigers will be holding a winter clothing donation drive to benefit St. Joe's House of Hospitality. St. Joe's is a Rochester Catholic Worker community, which provides food, clothing, shelter and spiritually-centered care to its guests.
