ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Vassar men's lacrosse team held their own against No. 4 RIT, but the Tigers erupted in the second half to come out on top, 24-7. Sophomore Spencer Duryee (Whitehouse Station, NJ) led the Brewers with two goals, while five other Vassar players had one each.
 
With the win, RIT moves to 7-1 and 2-6 in Liberty League play. Vassar slips to 2-6 and 0-2 in the league.
 
The Tigers scored the opening two goals, but Vassar responded with two of their own from Kyle Cherry (Manhassett, NY) and Dekker Stebel (San Diego, CA) to tie things up 2-2 at 8:05. Three scores from RIT pushed their lead to 5-2, but the Brewers closed the quarter with two scores in the final 30 seconds.
 
After a Tigers' turnover, Michael Killion (McLean, VA) grabbed the groundball. The ball made its way to Duryee who connected for the score. Matthew Lowery (Bel Air, MD) won the next faceoff with Chris Koester (Garden City, NY) scooping up the groundball. He made a quick dish to Duryee, who rocketed the shot into the net to make it a one goal game.
 
Vassar kept the game within reach in the second, but five-straight Tigers' goals put RIT up 10-5. Junior Austin Mello (Lafayette, CA) capitalized on the man-up with 34 seconds left in the half, and then freshman Logan Hyde (Manhassett, NY) notched the opening goal of the third to make it 10-7.
 
Unfortunately, that proved to be the final Vassar score. RIT would score 14 goals in a row to end the game, and completely shut out the Brewers in the fourth.
 
Lowery won 18-of-31 faceoffs and grabbed a game-high 14 groundballs. Erik Mikelinich (Dix Hills, NY), Matt Boyd (Essex Fells, NJ) and Devin Lee (Clinton, NY) all found time in goal for the Brewers. Lee set his career-high with six saves in his collegiate debut.
 
Vassar returns home to face No. 19 on Sat. Mar. 30 at 1 p.m. Game will be played at Gordon Field.