In the opening week of Liberty League play, the men’s lacrosse team finished with two wins against the Vassar College Brewers and the Hamilton College Continentals, bringing its record to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in the league. Rallying for a total of 24 goals in two games and only 11 goals against them, the Red Hawks begin the season undefeated in the conference.
“It was our goal to get to the top of the Liberty League right from the start and stay there,” explained senior goaltender Ryan DeJordy. “It was a positive weekend and we’re on track for success.”
Entering Wednesday’s game against the Brewers, RPI held an 11-0 all-time record against Vassar. Led by freshman Andrew Miller, who tallied a total of five points, the Red Hawks overpowered Vassar by a score of 14-6 on Harkness Field.
Rensselaer placed first on the board in the final minutes of the first quarter with goals by junior Paul Cerone and sophomore Conor Chocheles, who netted two goals apiece to pull the home-standing team ahead 4-0. Once again, the team’s two leading scorers Cerone and Chocheles struck, each adding single goals in the opening five minutes of the second frame. Junior Brett Evans also placed on the board, to bring the score to 9-0, RPI.
The Red Hawks held an 11-goal lead through the third period until senior Brewer Dan Feinberg netted two goals with six minutes left in the period. Vassar pressed hard to the end of the game by adding three more tallies to the board, but Miller added another goal to bring RPI up 14-6.
The Red Hawks also saw goals by freshmen Austin Ray and Brian Larkin. DeJordy had nine saves for RPI, before being relieved by freshmen Jon Yen and Grant Kovach. For the Brewers, sophomore Alex Tice made seven stops, while junior Ed Pappo had five saves in net, as Vassar moved to 3-4 overall and 0-1 in the Liberty League.
“We played some great defense and have been getting some offensive contributions from our young studs and some guys making the most of their opportunities,” said DeJordy.
Bringing that momentum from their last game into the weekend, Rensselaer finished with another stellar contest, this time in a 9-5 victory against the Hamilton College Continentals. Six different Red Hawks tallied goals, with three athletes scoring two.
“Throughout the whole game, the team did a great job finishing shots, which has been a struggling point for us all season,” said Ray. “This whole weekend, the team came out focused and ready to play because we knew it was important to make a statement by opening league play with some huge wins.”
Hamilton placed on the board first with a goal by senior Andy Simmons less than two minutes into the start of the match. That lead would not last long, as RPI sophomore Nick Billy responded with a goal of his own three minutes later, followed by Cerone’s 11th of the season and Ray’s second goal of the week. Each team exchanged a goal for a score of 4-2 at the end of the half.
Early into the third frame, Cerone and junior Josh Secora each netted a goal before the Continentals came back with another mark with four minutes left in the quarter. Billy and senior Ryan Bigham each tallied for RPI within 30 seconds of each other in the fourth, followed by one from sophomore Taylor Inman to bring the final score to 9-5, Rensselaer.
DeJordy finished with 11 saves in his second win in as many games, while freshmen Max Vaickus and Garrett Aike split 15 saves.
“Despite all this success we’ve had, we need to keep getting better every day because we’ve yet to play a full 60 minutes,” explained DeJordy. “We’re close ... we’re real close.”
After Saturday’s match, two Red Hawks were selected by the Liberty League for weekly honors. DeJordy and Miller were tabbed as Defensive Performer and Rookie of the Week, respectively. “I was suprised to see my name with ‘Rookie of the Week’ next to it. I didn’t expect it, but it feels awesome to get such an honor,” said Miller.
In the win over Vassar, Miller netted the first five points of his collegiate career— three goals and two assists—and recorded five shots on net. DeJordy posted a total of 20 saves while allowing only eight goals, good for a .714 save percentage on the weekend in 105 minutes of play. Over the week, he also posted a 4.57 goals against average, and overall on the season holds a 8.03 goals against average. Starting in all seven games for the Red Hawks this year, DeJordy has allowed only 54 goals and has made 71, posting a .568 overall save percentage— second best in the Liberty League. Currently, DeJordy averages 10.14 saves per game, which is the best in the league.
The Red Hawks continue with three more games, all on the road in the upcoming week. They were scheduled to face off against Skidmore College at 4 pm yesterday before heading out to Clarkson University on Saturday for a 2 pm start. They will finish at Middlebury College on Tuesday with a 4:30 pm match.
