Osborne puts Engineers ahead at Union

The Rensselaer Engineers traveled to Schenectady to take on their rivals, Union, in their fourth Liberty League game of the season.

Twelve minutes into the match, Gabe Terando scored to put the Engineers in front. Paul Silva whipped in a corner kick and Kyle Osborne rose above the crowd of players in the box, bulleting a header off the bar. The ball fell to Terando in the six-yard box and the Rensselaer striker buried his strike past the Dutchman goalkeeper.

Union responded later in the first half. Christian Rufo sent a pass across the face of the goal to teammate Evan Farr, whose point-blank half-volley whizzed past goalkeeper Luke Brezak for the Dutchmen’s equalizer.

Both teams were extremely physical in the second half, determined to secure a vital three points for the Liberty League standings. Midway through the half, Osborne threw the Engineers a lifeline. After a dispute with the referee’s call, Alex Garciá threw the ball in quickly. Reggie Durden settled Garciá’s throw, then picked out Osborne in the box. Durden arced a perfectly-weighted cross into the box and Osborne soared into the air. Osborne drilled his header into the bottom-right corner, leaving the Union goalkeeper motionless as he watched it fly by. With a 2‒1 lead, the Engineers needed to defend their lead for the final 25 minutes.

RPI survived Union’s offensive onslaught, securing the victory and the resulting three points. The Engineers sit in fifth place in the Liberty League standings with five points, their record 2‒1‒1. After two more Liberty League away games against RIT and Hobart, the Engineers return to East Campus Stadium on October 22 to take on the Ithaca Bombers. Click here for the box score.