After trampling the Lasell Lasers 19-2 last Wednesday, RPI’s men’s lacrosse team stood up to the challenge and left no questions in their 12-6 victory over the Oneota State Red Dragons on Saturday afternoon. RPI continued to stay perfect and improved to 7-0 overall. “It has felt great to start the season off with seven wins,” said junior Briggs Thompson. “This year is easily the hardest this team has worked in the three years I have been here. I think that beating Oneonta State, another program that was 6-0, showed that we are really starting to come together as a team. The chemistry between the offensive players and the communication between the defensive players has developed a substantial amount.”
“It is great to start like this,” said junior attacker PJ McComb, “but we know we played a bit of a weak schedule to start and beating Oneonta like we did proved that we can play well and beat a good team. We are playing awesome team lacrosse and our best feature is that we have so many weapons on offense along with a very tough and bruising defense.”
“In the games we have played so far we have been able to dictate the speed of the game so the other teams have had to adjust to play our style of lacrosse,” said junior Mike Sampson on what the team is doing right this season.
In a match-up between two undefeated teams with the same 6-0 record, Saturday’s game fielded both an excited home audience and a pumped-up team of Red Hawks.
RPI brought its A game, took the lead early, and never looked back. After the first quarter, freshman Paul Cerone’s two goals and one from Sampson put the home team up by three. The Red Hawks found the net six times in the second quarter—Thompson and Sampson scored twice—while Comb and Cerone tagged one apiece. Oneonta was able to beat junior goalie John Thibdeau three times, but when the half-time whistle blew, RPI’s healthy 9-3 lead was a testament to the quick attack and fast-paced game with which the team has been so successful.
The third period saw the opponents net one a piece and the game ended fairly uneventfully as RPI tacked on two more from sophomore Josh Secora and junior Alex MacDiarmid while the Red Dragons could only manage to score once bringing the final to 12-6 at the end of regulation play.
The Liberty League recognized the accomplishments of two athletes after the victories—classmates McComb and Thibdeau were named the Offensive and Defensive performers of the week. On attack, McComb led the team with 13 points from four goals and nine assists during the two games last week. In goal, Thibdeau stopped 13 shots, picked up nine ground balls, and allowed just eight goals. As the team’s starting goalie, he also has a perfect 7-0 record on the season.
Aside from the team chemistry, playing style, and communication, much credit is due to the highly-capable and ever-dedicated coaching staff lead by Head Coach Jim Townsend. “I will start by saying that coach Townsend is a great addition to RPI athletics, and of course especially the lacrosse team,” said McComb. “He is one of the most enthusiastic people I have ever met, he really knows not only about the game, but about people and respects each and every player.”
Thompson completely agrees with that sentiment, “Coach Townsend deserves most of the credit in the wins; he puts in a lot of time scouting and he knows the other team extremely well. We always know what defensive match-ups we want and who the threats are on the opposing offense—sometimes we know before the game starts that we are sliding to one player—on defense—but not another.”
“The coaches work really hard scouting our opponents so by game day everyone understands the other team’s strengths, and what our game plan is to overcome these strengths,” said Sampson, echoing Thompson.
“We have to keep improving every day in practice and stay confident like we have been and good things will continue to happen,” said McComb on the season’s outlook. “The only goal that I have is the same as anyone in the locker room—win the Liberty League, get an NCAA berth, and do the best that we can from there.”
The team is riding its stellar start to the season, and will head to Union on Saturday as its schedule heats up. The Dutchmen have just come off two consecutive losses to some of the top teams in the country, so it is no doubt that they will be looking for a win, especially against their Route-7 rivals. “We are flying high with confidence right now and have a great attitude, and if you asked any player on the team right now they will tell you we are going to show Union what RPI lacrosse is all about,” believes McComb. “That being said, they are a huge rival and lacrosse is a sport that on any given day any team can win. We will certainly not be taking them lightly and we will be going at them with all we have to continue our streak. I have never lost to Union—I intend to keep it that way.”
Sampson agrees, “Every game it seems like more fans are coming out—which has been awesome, we really appreciate the support. Playing at Union is always a hostile environment, but it is not far away so if anyone has time on Saturday, make the drive out to Union to watch what is always a good game.”
