ITHACA, N.Y. – The No. 5/6 women's hockey team topped Rensselaer in a 1-0 decision on Friday afternoon at Lynah Rink. It was Kristin O'Neill who came away with the lone goal of the game eight minutes and 46 seconds into the third period.
 
"Our team played a solid game tonight," said head coach Doug Derraugh. "I saw a team game. It was one of those games where you get a lot of chances early on and we weren't able to connect on our scoring chances and their goaltender did a great job early on in the game."
 
"Then I thought we started to get some confidence and they did a nice job defensively clogging up the middle and not allowing us to get those second and third opportunities. So I think our team needs to work a little harder getting to the net and creating second and third chances. But overall, I thought we stayed patient and we didn't get too individual as the game went on, which sometimes happens in these kinds of games."
 
After fending off a few RPI skaters, Maddie Mills brought the puck up through the offensive zone and sent a pass to O'Neill in the slot, who found the back right corner of the net as she was falling down.
 
O'Neill proved to be the key attacker of the day, sending in an incredible 14 shots towards the opposition's net. Paige Lewis, Devon Facchinato and Maddie Mills each recorded four shots apiece.
 
Despite the low-scoring game, the box score showed a different story, with Cornell thoroughly dominating the match offensively and defensively. The Big Red outshot the Engineers 37-8 and while RPI did make many trips into Cornell's offensive zone, its offensive attack was immediately suffocated by the Big Red's defensive presence.
 
The standout counterattack was reflected by goaltender Marlene Boissonnault only having to make eight total saves in the shutout, her third of the season. Meanwhile, Rensselaer's Lovisa Selander had quite an outing, stopping 36 of the 37 shots sent her way.
 
The team is back at Lynah Rink tomorrow, Jan. 20, hosting Union for a 3 p.m. matchup.
 
"We're in the thick of things now here at the end of January and every point is going to make a different in the ECAC playoffs," said Derraugh. "They're fighting for a playoff positon, we're fighting for a playoff position. So I'm sure it'll be a tough game. They're a very disciplined team, a very smart team. They're very well coached and like RPI, they have very good goaltending, so I expect more of the same tomorrow."