TROY, N.Y. – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) earned a 7-1 win over Castleton in non-conference field hockey action on Tuesday evening at Harkness Field. 

The Engineers received a hat trick from senior Molly Zuk to improve to 5-11 overall. The

Spartans dropped to 2-14 with the loss as they were outshot 34-5 in the contest and earned a single penalty corner. 

RPI scored two quick goals in the opening 13 minutes to grab a 2-0 lead on scores by Megan Jones and Hana Murphy. 

Castleton got on the board at 19:10 on its lone penalty corner. Haley Spittle passed the ball out to Kristy Pinkham, who smashed the ball straight into the back of the cage. 

The Engineers scored twice more before the end of the half. Murphy netted her second of the day at 25:38, and then with just 50 seconds remaining Zuk made it 4-1. 

Zuk added an assist to her total early in the second, collecting the ball in a scramble in front of the cage and getting it to Angela Cascio at 39:31. Zuk added two more goals in the next four minutes for the 7-1 advantage. 

Hannah Clough recorded four saves for the Engineers to earn the win while Jess Galatioto finished with 13 for Castleton. Karissa McCoy also recorded a defensive save for the Spartans. 

Castleton returns to action on Saturday when the team travels to Husson for the NAC Semifinals at 5:30 pm.