POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 29, 2017) — The Vassar College men's lacrosse team (7-2, 0-1 Liberty) will be looking for its first win in conference play when it welcomes Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to Weinberg Field on Saturday, April 1 for a 6 p.m. tilt.
 
Game Details
Opponent: RPI Engineers (4-2, 1-1 Liberty)
Links: (RPI Home Page) (Roster) (Stats) (Schedule)
Site: Poughkeepsie, NY
Facility: Weinberg Turf Field
Date: Saturday, April 1, 2017
Time: 6 p.m.
Coverage: (Live Stats)(Video)
 
Last Time Out:  In the final non-conference game of the regular season, Vassar powered past Bryn Athyn College at Weinberg Field on Tuesday, 17-9. Twelve Brewers found the back of the net and six dished out an assist, as 15 total chalked up at least a point.
 
A Look at the Brewers (7-2):

• The Brewers have won three of their past four, with their lone loss coming at Skidmore College on Saturday, 11-5.
• Sam Houston-Read earned a spot on the Liberty League Honor Roll, as announced on Monday, after his performances against Colby College and Skidmore last week. The full release can be read here.
• Through nine games, the Brewers have outshot opponents 332-215 overall and 198-135 in shots-on-goal. Of their 87 total goals, 58 have been assisted.
• VC has excelled in special situations, netting six man-up goals, while holding opponents to just one.
• The Brewers have won the faceoff battle, 115-65, and the ground ball battle, 297-228, thanks in large to faceoff specialist Matthew Lowery, who has won 88 of his 123 faceoffs on the way to picking up a team-best 53 ground balls.  Lowery's 71.5 winning percentage is so far the best in program history. The current leader, Scott Brekne, finished the 2015 season with a 56.1 winning percentage. Lowery also has five goals and two assists to boot.
• Liam Moriarty (10g, 15a) and Houston-Read (11g, 13a) pace the Brewer offense with 25 and 24 respective points. Michael Mullen (11g, 7a), Chris Billups (10g, 1a), James Thomas (8g, 2a) and Brandon DeStasio (8g, 2a) have also been productive on that side of the ball.
• Gianni Gelormino (24gb, 10cto), Eric Prezioso (13gb, 10cto) and TK Murphy (24gb, 7cto) have anchored the Brewers, defensively.
• Matt Boyd and Erik Mikelinich have both been solid in the cage. Boyd (6-1) has made 48 stops for a 60.8 save percentage, while Mikelinich (1-1) has fended away 27 shots for a 48.2 percentage.
• With Boyd's sixth win of the season on Tuesday, he is tied for most wins in a season, alongside Brandon Crecco (2016), Alex Tice (2009) and current VC assistant Andrew Nicol (2014). With eight wins and counting for his career, Boyd is tied for fifth all-time for career wins.
• The Brewers look to build upon their record-setting season, in which they finished 2016 with an 8-8 overall mark. The previous high in wins was six, which had been attained three times before (2015, 2014, 2009).
• VC strung together four straight wins for the first time in program history, beating Drew University, SUNY Oneonta, Swarthmore College and Mount Saint Mary College to open the season.

 
A Look at the Engineers (4-2):

• The Engineers have won their past three games, beating Whittier College, Montclair State University and most recently Bard College.
• Before the Engineers travel to Poughkeepsie, they'll host Plattsburg State on Wednesday. Unlike Vassar, RPI still has four non-conference games remaining in the regular season: Plattsburg State, Oneonta, Babson College and Williams College.
• Through six games this season, the Engineers have been outshot 235-227 overall, but have outshot opponents 144-135 in shots-on-goal. Of their 74 total goals, 58 have been assisted.
• RPI has been stellar in special situations, scoring 13 man-up goals while holding opponents to just three.
• The Engineers have won the faceoff battle 87-66 and the ground ball battle 195-183.
• Breanainn McNally has been superb on offense, leading the team with 38 points on 21 goals and 17 assists. JT Kelly (6g, 11a), CJ Kigar (10g, 6a) and Zach Lukas (6g, 5a) have also been productive on that side of the ball.
• Defensively, Peter Adorno (11cto, 12gb), Tom Feenstra (8cto, 24gb) and Quinn Fettiq (6cto, 22gb) have been solid, with Oliver Kaija (53-98fo, 20gb) acting as the primary faceoff specialist.
• David Gibbs, Parker Smith and Tyler McCormack have all spent time in net. Gibbs (4-2) has made 72 saves over 290 minutes, Smith has made six stops of 67 minutes nad McCormack has yet to fend away a shot over three minutes of play.
• The Engineers look to improve upon their 2016 slate, in which they finished 13-5 overall and 5-2 in Liberty League play.
• Last year, RPI beat St. Lawrence before falling to Rochester Institute of Technology in the Liberty League championship game. The Engineers later fell to Amherst College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

 
Against RPI All-Time: The Brewers are 0-18 against the Engineers all-time, dating back to their first meeting 1999. This will mark the first time since 2013 that the teams will meet in Poughkeepsie.
 
Next Up: Vassar hits the road, taking on Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY on Saturday, April 8 at noon.