After outscoring Clarkson 5-1 in the game’s opening session Saturday on Harkness Field, the Red Hawks cruised to a 13-10 conference victory, but Tuesday’s battle with the Middlebury Panthers was the polar opposite. RPI fell behind 4-0 in the first quarter and never managed to recover, eventually falling 13-4 to the country’s 11th-ranked team.

The Golden Knights received front row tickets to the Adam LoGiudice and Chris Sherman show. The two seniors combined to score two of RPI’s five first quarter goals and seven of the Red Hawks’ 13 scores on the day.

Other big scorers for Rensselaer included freshmen Ryan Bigham and Josh Secora who tallied one goal and one assist apiece. Secora was named Liberty League Offensive Performer of the Week for his efforts.

“We came out with a lot of intensity,” Rensselaer Head Coach Tom Korrie said of the Red Hawks’ performance against Clarkson. “We hustled. Good things happen when you play hard.”

Against the Panthers, RPI played hard, but appeared hesitant against a team that has won three national championships and six consecutive NESCAC titles.

Middlebury’s ride defense was impressive as the Panthers forced Rensselaer four consecutive times into their defensive zone and caused the Red Hawks to miscue on six of their 10 first-quarter clear attempts. The extra possessions directly resulted in three of the Panthers’ four first-quarter goals.

With the ball stuck in the defensive zone, the RPI offense was held silent. The Red Hawks finally tallied their first goal on a shot from midfielder LoGiudice just under 10 minutes into the second quarter. Rensselaer trailed 6-1 at the half and failed on eight of 21 first-half clear attempts, thanks in large part to poor decision making and a failure to react under duress.

“When you play a big gorilla you have to hit him with everything you got,” Rensselaer men’s lacrosse Head Coach Tom Korrie said of RPI’s timid play early against the Panthers. “We failed to do that and it showed.”

A demoralized and beaten RPI squad failed to muster much of a comeback effort the rest of the way against the talented Panthers. Middlebury goaltender Alex Palmisano, who finished with six saves, added insult to injury, smothering several great scoring chances for the Red Hawks. His adversary, RPI goaltender Ryan Michels, faired much worse, making only 13 saves on 33 shots and was pulled to start the fourth quarter.

Any confidence fostered in the Clarkson game was erased Tuesday as Rensselaer was beaten in virtually every phase of the game, and the Middlebury contest failed to provide the morale booster the Red Hawks wanted heading into this Saturday’s 1 pm match-up in Canton, N.Y., with Liberty League foe St. Lawrence.

Rensselaer, currently 5-7 overall and 3-0 in league play, is currently tied with the Saints for first place in the conference, but St. Lawrence’s position is much more inviting than RPI’s. The Saints have already played Hamilton, Skidmore, and Union—the third, fourth, and fifth place teams in the league, respectively—and scored 36 goals, while only allowing 12. The Red Hawks have managed to net 38 goals, but have given up 23 in their three wins against Hamilton and league cellar dwellers Vassar and Clarkson.