The Springfield Pride scored just 30 seconds into the overtime period to hand Rensselaer’s men’s lacrosse team its first defeat of the season.
Springfield’s Craig Gibson picked up the first of his four goals less than 90 seconds into the contest to open the scoring. After that, it was a continual back-and-forth, with neither team being able to string two goals together until another goal by Gibson to open the third quarter gave the Pride a 6-4 lead.
After the teams exchanged another pair of goals each, RPI freshmen Nick Culotti and Ryan Frisch scored consecutive goals to tie the game, but Gibson was once again the answer for the Pride, scoring in overtime to give Springfield a 9-8 win.
For the Red Hawks, sophomores Jeff Hobbs and Lucas Ruglis each contributed two goals and an assist to lead the offense. RPI’s Matthew Moog and Springfield’s Tom Ulrich matched each other with 11 saves apiece.
The Red Hawks’ loss comes despite outshooting the Pride 44-26, outracing them 59-36 on ground balls, and outperforming them by two goals in man-up situations. Springfield dominated faceoffs, 16-4.
Rensselaer opens its UCAA season today at Vassar at 4 pm, followed by an important non-conference match against Nazareth noon Saturday in Troy.
