POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (March 24, 2018) – The Vassar men's lacrosse team did all they could against the top ranked team in the nation, but in the end, the Tigers of RIT came out on top, 19-8.
 
Tomás Meade registered his first career hat trick to lead the Brewer offense with three goals. Also with three points on the day was Michael Mullen, who tallied two assists and one score. Rounding out the scorers for Vassar were Matthew Lowery, Nick Diamond, James Thomas, and Dekker Stebel.
 
RIT got the first score of the day, but Vassar got the next two to go up 2-1 in the opening minutes. First, Mullen scored an unassisted goal followed by Meade's first of the day. Before the end of the first, the Tigers put one more home to tie the game at 2-2.
 
The Tigers dominated the second quarter, outscoring Vassar 5-1 to grab a 7-3 lead at the break. Vassar's only score of the frame came when Mullen fed Meade early in the stanza.
 
RIT scored four straight goals to open the third quarter and jump out to an 11-3 lead. But the Brewers fought back, cutting in to 11-6 late in the stanza. Lowery won the faceoff and picked up his own groundball before racing through the Tiger defense and firing a shot into the back of the net. The next Brewer goal was a man-up score as Mullen assisted Diamond's only goal of the afternoon. And with 3:21 remaining in the frame, Meade completed his hat trick and cut the lead to five.
 
On the next possession, Vassar was unable to capitalize on another extra-man opportunity as RIT then stopped the Brewer run and extended their advantage to six.
 
Six more goals from RIT in the final 15 minutes, sandwiched between two Vassar scores would pit the final score at 19-8. Stebel and Thomas both tallied their only goals of the afternoon in the final quarter against the Tigers.
 
The Brewers held the slight edge in faceoffs, winning 15-29 on the day led by Lowery's 14-25 effort. RIT committed seven penalties on the day, but the Brewers were only able to score twice on the man-up.
 
Matt Boyd played the full 60 minutes in cage, making 14 saves on the day in his seventh start of the season.
 
Vassar's run of ranked opponents continue as they travel to 13^th ranked Ithaca on Saturday, March 31 for a 3:00 p.m. contest.