In looking at the next six or seven days, it is shaping up to be QUITE A WEEK in Rensselaer Athletics with plenty of post-season contests, rivalry games and more! Three teams are playing in the playoffs on Thursday, men's hockey hosts Black Friday against Union and football is back in action, among other exciting events...

The women's soccer team defeated Skidmore on Wednesday (2-0) and FINISHED TIED FOR FIRST in the Liberty League. RPI hosts rival Union in the league semifinals on Thursday at 4pm. Rensselaer is the top seed and nationally-ranked Union, the only team in the LL to defeat the Engineers, is the fourth seed. Live statistics for the game, which will be played in ECAV Stadium, will be available at http://sidearmstats.com/rpi/wsoc/scoreboard.aspx. A live webcast of the match may be available at www.rpitv.org.

Should RPI win on Thursday, it will host either William Smith or RIT in the league's CHAMPIONSHIP GAME on Saturday afternoon at a time TBD. Cord Farmer's team had a regular season record of 11-6 overall, including an impressive 7-1 mark in the league.

Adam Clinton's men's soccer team also hosts a playoff game on Thursday. The Engineers, who also tied for FIRST IN THE LEAGUE, take on nationally-ranked St. Lawrence at 7pm in ECAV Stadium. Rensselaer, which had regular season records of 9-5-4 and 5-1-2, played a scoreless draw with the Saints just a couple of weeks ago. Live statistics for the game will be available at http://sidearmstats.com/rpi/msoc/scoreboard.aspx and a live webcast of the match may be available at www.rpitv.org.

With a victory on Thursday, RPI would either host Union or travel to Vassar for the CHAMPIONSHIP GAME on Saturday afternoon. The time for that match has not been determined.

Also in the PLAYOFFS ON THURSDAY, is the field hockey team, which is the fourth seed and travels to top-seeded William Smith for a game at 5pm. The Engineers, who are coached by Bridget LaNoir, are 9-7 overall and 4-2 in the Liberty League. Among their losses was a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Herons less than two weeks ago.

LIVE STATISTICS for the game at William Smith can be found at http://campus.hws.edu/athletics/herons/fh/live/xlive.htm. There will also be live audio and a live webcast. Should Rensselaer advance, it will play at either Rochester or Skidmore in Saturday's championship game.

The winner in all three tournaments earns a berth into their respective NCAA Tournaments for the right to play for the NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP. Also relevant for all three sports is the announcements of the Liberty League's year-end award winners and all-league teams, which will be made late this week.

Rensselaer's FOURTH TEAM IN ACTION on Halloween is the women's ice hockey team, which plays at Vermont in a non-league game at 7pm. Live stats can be found at http://www.sidearmstats.com/uvmsid/whockey/scoreboard.aspx and a webcast at http://www.nsnsports.net/uvm/.

The Engineers, who have this weekend off, played their first league games last Friday and Saturday, a pair of losses at nationally-ranked Clarkson and St. Lawrence. Freshman Alexa Gruschow had a goal and an assist against the Golden Knights and now LEADS THE TEAM with eight points (4 goals, 4 assists) in seven games.

Rensselaer's men's hockey team had last weekend but are back on the ice to open ECAC Hockey action on Friday. And it is BLACK FRIDAY AGAINST UNION. The Black Friday game encourages fans to wear black to the game, as the team wears special black jereseys for the event. Fans can enter a raffle for the underclassmen and/or bid on the seniors' jerseys during the game. The recipient is presented the jersey by the student-athletes immediately following the game.

The Engineers, who play at Union on Saturday night at 7pm, are 1-1-2 overall with sophomore Matt Neal leading the team in scoring (3 goals, 5 assists). Friday's action can be followed IN A VARIETY OF WAYS, including live webcast (www.rpitv.org), live audio (WRPI, 91.5 FM & www.wrpi.org) and live statistics (http://www.sidearmstats.com/rpi/mhockey/scoreboard.aspx). Saturday's game can also be heard on the air at WRPI, 91.5 FM & www.wrpi.org and live stats can be found at http://www.sidearmstats.com/union/mhockey/scoreboard.aspx. A live webcast can be viewed at http://www.unionathletics.tv/.

Also off last weekend but back in action on Saturday is the FOOTBALL TEAM, which hits the road for the final time during the regular season. The Engineers, who are 5-2 overall and 3-2 in the Liberty League, travel to Western Mass. to take on Springfield in conference matchup. Game time is noon and the contest can be heard live on WRPI, 91.5 FM & www.wrpi.org.

Cross country is idle this weekend after competing in the Liberty League Championship Meet, where BOTH TEAMS FINISHED SECOND. Senior Grace Tilton was second overall on the women's side, while the men were paced by Patrick Condon. The next competition for the Engineers is November 10 at the NCAA Atlantic Regional Meet.

The swimming & diving teams compete in their first group meets on Saturday when they travel to the WPI Invitational. RPI's men's and women's teams both dropped dual meets to Ithaca on Saturday and both teams stand at 1-1 at this point.

GO ENGINEERS!