Engineers call in cavalry against Clarkson, advance to playoffs for third consecutive year

Needing only a tie to clinch a playoff berth, the Engineers showed no mercy against the Clarkson Golden Knights. Whether it was Kyle Osborne’s physical play or Paul Silva penetrating the defense, Rensselaer repeatedly found ways to apply pressure. Through their stellar play, RPI continually created chances inside the box.

With seven minutes remaining in the first half, Engineer forwards Osborne and Silva connected on a long overdue first goal of the game for the Engineers. Osborne shook his defender off to gain possession of the ball to hit a pass upfield to Silva, where all Silva had to do was tap the ball into the net. With that goal, Silva scored his tenth of the season, making him second in the Liberty League in goals scored, only behind Skidmore’s Kamal Ibrahim.

The Engineers continued their dominance after halftime, scoring 11 minutes into the second half. RPI’s Joaquin Rodriguez found his brother Julio Rodriguez in space and threaded the needle to him. With only the keeper in front of him, Julio dribbled by to put the ball into the net for the first shot of the second half and doubled RPI’s lead.

With five minutes remaining in the contest, RPI scored once again, off of a miscue from Golden Knights’ goalkeeper Josh Morelli. Morelli failed to corral the ball, which RPI midfielder Pedro Lara quickly kicked into the air to prevent Clarkson from clearing. Liam McDermott skillfully tracked the ball and volleyed it in while it was on its way down for an impressive goal to put RPI up 3‒0.

RPI finished the game with fourteen shots compared to Clarkson’s six shots, demonstrating RPI’s dominance. The Engineers finished in fourth place with a record of 4‒3‒2 in Liberty League and will host the first round of the playoffs against the RIT Tigers at East Campus Stadium on November 1 at 3 pm. Click here for the box score and here for the RPI TV broadcast.