POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – RPI senior Casey Colligan scored a man-up goal with 21 seconds on the clock in the fourth quarter, as the No. 18 Engineers broke the tie and held off Vassar 9-8 Saturday afternoon. The goal was one of two for the visitors in the final minute of play in a game that saw five lead changes and seven goals scored in the fourth quarter.

Junior Noah Parson (Cary, NC/Panther Creek) and sophomore Liam Moriarty (New Fairfield, CT/New Fairfield) led the way for the Brewers, recording two goals and an assist each, while Breanainn McNeally and Patrick Finn shared identical stat lines for the Engineers. RPI improves to 6-2 on the season and 1-0 in the Liberty League with the win, while VC drops to 3-3 and 0-1 in conference play.

McNeally set the tone early for RPI at Weinberg Field, scoring off a dish from Finn a little over a minute into the first quarter to put the Engineers ahead 1-0. The Brewers answered quickly, getting a goal from Moriarty 25 seconds later to even the score at one.

VC took its first lead of the game at the 11:25 mark, as Parson found an open Chris Billups (Watchung, NJ/Oratory Preparatory) in front of the cage to convert an easy opportunity. The Brewers extended their lead to 3-1 with 6:57 left in the first, after a loose ball on a busted clear attempt found its way through to Parson. The attackman made the easy scoop, and buried his shot to put Vassar ahead by two.

RPI came charging back in the final three minutes, getting a pair of goals from Aaron Shavel and Chaz Bell to tie the game at three.      

Sophomore Brandon DeStasio (West Hempstead, NY/Chaminade) quickly gave the Brewers back the lead at the start of the second quarter, scooping up a groundball off the faceoff and taking it all the way to the net himself. RPI again found the equalizer at the 5:22 mark as McNeally scored the first of three man-up goals in the game for the Engineers to make it 4-4.

Finn put RPI ahead with the final goal of the half, scoring off a feed from Shavel with 1:36 to play, as the Brewers headed into the break down 5-4.

The third quarter proved to be a defensive struggle, as turnovers and lockdown coverage prevented few opportunities for either side. Parson finally broke through for the Brewers at the 5:08 mark, tying the game at five on a deep shot from the right side.

Vassar came out firing at the start of the fourth quarter, taking a two-goal lead in the first five minutes. After offsetting penalties made it five-on-five for 60 seconds, sophomore Sam Houston-Read (Waban, MA/Newton South) regained the lead for Vassar at the 12:32 mark on an assist from Moriarty. Senior Sean Brazier (Stony Brook, NY/Stony Brook) extended the advantage to 7-5 with 10:51 left in regulation, scoring his first of the game on a rip from dead center.

RPI came right back, as Jake Weidner and Matt Hall posted their first goals on the afternoon to tie the game at seven with 5:52 remaining. The teams traded possessions on turnovers and missed shots, before Moriarty sliced through the defense on the right side to score an unassisted goal with 1:32 left on the clock.

A faceoff win put the ball right back in the sticks of the Engineers, and after a timeout RPI again tied the game on a goal from Finn with 59 seconds left. A 30 second penalty on the Brewers proved critical on the ensuing faceoff, as RPI setup for the final possession with an extra man opportunity.

After a shot from Finn ricocheted off the post, Colligan shoveled the rebound off the deck and into the net to deliver the game-winner for the Engineers. Vassar won the final faceoff and had one last chance, but could not produce a shot as time expired and RPI clinched the win.

Freshman goalie Erik Mikelinich (Dix Hills, NY/Half Hollow Hills HS West) had a game-high nine saves, while David Gibbs finished with seven for the Engineers.

Vassar will have a chance to rebound on Wednesday, March 25 when the team hosts Mt. St. Mary College at Weinberg Field.

--VASSAR--