In the early going, it was Rensselaer that grabbed the first lead. Senior Gary Sroka blasted a shot from 18-yards out past Saxon goalie Patrick Grimmer at the 14:50 mark, putting RPI up 1-0.

Later in the half at the 39:52 mark, sophomore Ben Russell cushioned the Red Hawks’ lead. Classmate Andy Carter advanced the ball to Russell, who found himself in a one-on-one situation with the goalie who was charging him to make a play on the ball. Russell, though, capped off the play, and blasted a shot just inside the post, making it a 2-0 game in favor of RPI, which would be the score headed into halftime.

Rensselaer was on point from the opening gun, outshooting Alfred 10-0 in the first half and holding a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks. The RPI men also committed four fewer fouls, three compared to the Saxons’ seven.

When play resumed, it was more of the same for the Red Hawks as far as keeping constant pressure on Alfred. Rensselaer tacked on one more goal late in the game at the 80:22 mark to make it a 3-0 game and seal the Saxons’ fate. Russell added his second goal, heading the ball past the outstretched arms of Grimmer. Freshman Liezer Esquenazi picked up the assist on the play, the first of his career, by crossing the ball to Russell.

RPI outshot Alfred 18-2 on the day and had six more corner kicks than its opponent, eight compared to two. Freshman Alex Penny stopped one shot in goal for the Red Hawks, while Grimmer made six saves for the Saxons. Russell, who scored his second and third goals of the season, was named the Liberty League Offensive Performer of the Week.

With the victory, Rensselaer improves to 5-3-1. Next up for the RPI men is Hobart College on Friday at 4 pm, and Hamilton College on Saturday at 2 pm. The Statesmen are 7-1-1 on the season, 1-1-1 in Liberty League play, while the Continentals are 3-2-2, 1-2-2 in the league.