The men’s lacrosse team split the week, starting things off successfully with a win on Wednesday over SUNY Potsdam before losing to Union College on Saturday for the first time in 12 years.
The midweek 9-5 non-conference victory helped the Red Hawks improve to 6-1 overall and was their sixth straight win. The squad was led by senior PJ McComb who had two goals and three assists on the day.
It was a tight game throughout the first quarter, with the homestanding Red Hawks finding the back of the net first as senior Mike Sampson scored at 14:12. It took less than two minutes, however, for the Bears to counter.
With things tied at three apiece entering the second quarter, RPI’s senior Tom O’Dwyer put the Red Hawks up by one heading into the break. In the second half, Potsdam State again tied it up 4-4 with its goal at 13:24, but Rensselaer got one of its own from senior Alex MacDiarmid at 11:46.
RPI scored four more goals to take a 9-4 lead with under a minute to play. Although the Bears would score in that final minute, it was too little too late as RPI cruised to its sixth consecutive win. Sophomore netminder Ryan DeJordy stopped four shots for Rensselaer as he improved to 5-1.
On Saturday afternoon, RPI hosted Liberty League rival Union at Harkness Field. The Red Hawks’ heartbreaking 10-9 loss broke their winning streak and put them at 6-2 overall on the season. The Dutchmen’s game-winning goal with just five seconds left in the game gave the visitors their first win over RPI in more than a decade.
Union held a 3-2 advantage after the first half, and increased its lead to two at 12:47, going up 4-2 in the third quarter. McComb and MacDiarmid had a pair of goals to tie the game up at 4-4, but Union put three in the net, going up 7-4 by the end of the third quarter.
RPI tied the game at seven apiece with 10:37 remaining. Although Union took the lead briefly, the Red Hawks pulled ahead for their first lead of the game with 3:15 remaining in regulation. The Dutchmen’s offense was too powerful in the final minutes, however, and tied things up at 2:05 before the last-second goal that won the game.
MacDiarmid led the Red Hawks with three goals while sophomore Devin Arnold had two goals and an assist. Junior Josh Secora also had a goal and three assists. In net, DeJordy made nine stops in the loss.
The Red Hawks host Liberty League rival Skidmore College at Harkness Field on Wednesday at 4 pm. The contest marks the 23rd time the teams have matched up and will be covered live on the RPI athletics stats page.
