POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 1, 2017) — For the first time in program history, the Vassar College men's lacrosse team (8-2, 1-1 Liberty) took down a top-20 opponent, beating No. 19 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (5-3, 1-2 Liberty) in an 11-9 thriller at Weinberg Field on Saturday.

In a game that featured six ties and four lead changes, the Brewers strung together four straight goals — three of which were man-up — to open the fourth quarter on the way to their first win over the Engineers in program history.

With the victory, Vassar matches its program-best for wins a season, as the Brewers finished last year with an 8-8 overall record.

Three Brewers registered a trifecta of points: Michael Mullen scored a hat trick, Brandon DeStasio netted two goals to go with an assist, and Liam Moriarty scored one goal to go along with two helpers. James Thomas (2g), Sam Houston-Read (1g, 1a) and Dekker Stebel (1g, 1a) all added a pair of points, while Chris Billups (1g) finished with one. 

"We had some big-time players come up with some big-time plays tonight. Our seniors were great. Liam, Brandon DeStasio, Sam Houston-Read were awesome," coach Marc Graham said. "Mike Mullen came up with three of our last goals, which was huge. For a freshman to come up big in this game, that's really exciting."

The Brewer defense held up incredibly well against a fast-paced Engineer offense. In particular, Eric Prezioso registered game-highs in ground balls (6) and created turnovers (3). Matthew Lowery was also critical, helping Vassar win the face-off battle 14-10 and the ground ball battle 25-20. 

"We talked a lot this week about doing things full-speed," Graham said. "We ramped up our effort just a little bit. We've been playing really well, but we just needed to take that next step."

Goalkeeper Matt Boyd matched his career-best with 16 saves for the win, while David Gibbs took the loss with 12 stops, as the Brewers and Engineers put up 36 shots apiece. 

Breanainn McNeally and Zach Lukas both registered four points on three scores and an assist. Lucas Bastarache (1g, 1a) and JT Kelly (2a) both added two points, while Quinn Fettig (1g), Jake Weidner (1g) and Owen Putnam (1a) all finished with one. 

Playing in front of a rowdy crowd, both sides netted two goals in the first quarter. Stebel and Thomas bookended a pair of scores by Lukas, and the game was tied at two headed into the second stanza. 

Moriarty found Houston-Read to give the Brewers a 3-2 edge, and DeStasio connected on a rocket shot from deep to put them back on top after a McNeally goal, 4-3. McNally netted another two before DeStasio drove straight to the cage to knot the game at five going into the break. 

"After the first half of the game, I was speechless," DeStasio said. "I was just running up to all of the seniors, giving them big hugs. Four years of hard work we've put in to contribute to this, and it's been great what our team's been able to do since then."

The Engineers netted the only two goals of the third quarter to take their largest lead of the game, 7-5, but the Brewers came out with a vengeance in the final frame. 

Moriarty got the ball rolling, spinning around his defender before taking it in for a goal, 7-6. Shortly thereafter, DeStasio took a hard hit, which resulted in a two-minute, non-releasable penalty on RPI. The Brewers rallied around that moment to net three straight man-up goals within those two minutes. Ultimately, the Brewers finished 4-of-3 in extra-man opportunities.

Houston-Read fed Billups in between scores by Mulllen. Stebel assisted on the first to make it 7-all, and DeStasio helped on the second to give the Brewers a 9-7 advantage with about six minutes remaining. 

The sides exchanged goals the rest of the way with Thomas scoring on his own, 10-8, and Moriarty feeding Mullen for the hat trick, 11-9.

"It's a big win. We can't let up," Prezioso said. "Every game has to be the most important game in our minds, and we can make it to the playoffs with that attitude."

Vassar next plays Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY on Saturday, April 8 at noon. 

—VASSAR—

*Highlights are underlined throughout the text.