Troy, NY - Scoring her sixth goal of the game with less than five minutes remaining, Kerri Clark of Rensselaer helped fend off numerous comebacks from the Clarkson University Women's Lacrosse program as the Red Hawks beat the Golden Knights 14-12 in the Liberty League action Friday afternoon.
The Golden Knights fell to 4-8 overall and 1-6 in the conference while RPI improved to 3-6 and 1-3. Clarkson returns to action on Saturday when the team faces Vassar College.
A seesaw battle took place in the first half with the Red Hawks finally winning out with a 7-5 advantage at the break. Rensselaer then took a 9-5 lead just four minutes into the second half and appeared ready to run out to a commanding lead. However, the Knights responded quickly with three goals in a span of 1:34 to cut the RPI advantage to 9-8. Another three-goal run by the Knights followed up two RPI goals to tie the score 11-11 with less than 15 minutes remaining, creating a toss-up opportunity for the two teams searching for a conference victory.
With 9:52 remaining, Rensselaer's Morgan Wahl scored on a free position shot to give the Red Hawks a 12-11 lead, but the Knights were awarded a free position chance of their own and converted with 6:31 left as freshman Brittnie Carroll (Dexter, NY) buried a shot in the back of the net. Just two minutes later, however, Rensselaer would take the lead for good as Clark scored for the sixth time in the game for 13-12 lead. The Red Hawks would score with two seconds left to close out the scoring.
Alicia Chace (Cortland, NY) scored three goals and Carroll added two goals and an assist. Sophomore Alyssa Breed (Macedon, NY) and freshman Kim Loucks (Waterloo, NY) also produced two goals. Meagan Emlaw (Norfolk, NY) stopped 12 saves for Clarkson, which was out shot 38-27 and trailed in groundballs 42-32. The Knights did dominate on draw controls with a 17-7 lead on face offs.
No other player for Rensselaer recorded more than one goal besides Clark and Emily Perkins and Ariana Hood combined for 12 saves for the Red Hawks.
